


𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐲【Kid x Reader x Killer】

by xCaptainHowdy



Category: One Piece
Genre: Death, Eventual Smut, Explicit Language, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Kidnapping, Love Triangles, Multi, Pirates, Smut, Threesome - F/M/M, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:08:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 27
Words: 69,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27708806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xCaptainHowdy/pseuds/xCaptainHowdy
Summary: 《 ______ lives as a fortune teller. Tarot, magic stones, hand reading...  Maybe not quite a noble job in the eyes of most people.But the problem comes when she reads the fortune of the wrong person.And the problem became worse when, actually, she is bluffer and now has to prove her predictions are true. 》Kid Pirates x Reader
Relationships: Eustass Kid/Killer/Reader, Eustass Kid/Reader, Killer (One Piece)/Reader
Comments: 38
Kudos: 67





	1. The Art of Deceit

Some ravens were pecking at the rocks on the floor, searching for breadcrumbs in front of a wooden door, which once seemed to have been of green colour. Even though it was worn out, you still could read ______ _'s Divinations_ written in a crappy cursive trying to look elegant.

It wasn't too long before a young girl slammed the door open, scaring the birds off and making them scatter away. The girl who almost destroyed what was left of the door ran past the remaining birds.

"Shit, shit, shit! Am I late?" The pink-haired girl went to look at her wristwatch, realizing she left it at home. She cursed while she kept running. "Fuck! Nevermind, I can't lose time on that. I think I still can get there on time..."

She arrived at the entrance of her favourite pub. The sound of her clairvoyance gadgets jingling in her bag. She held it tightly to avoid it being in her way while running. There, in that old stinky bar, where prostitutes, pirates and other ne'er-do-wells gathered, it was where ______ could make a living with her predictions. Not many people visited her hovel for that.

But maybe it's better if she continues the story from here.

»»——————————⍟———————————««

I opened the door to the Red Fox, and even if the clientele weren't the most distinguished, it was where you could find the majority of people who were willing to pay a stranger to tell them their fortune. It wasn't something that had everyone in awe, I had assumed that already.

"You again, lass?" The owner of the bar, a lady with a weird and extravagant hair and dress talked at the same time she exhaled the smoke of a cigar. Madame Ciggy, as they called her around here. She only had one hand. The other one was replaced by a hook, with which she held her cigars, hence the name a drunkard came up with some night.

Nonetheless, her nice attitude made up for her menacing appearance. Or so I wanted to believe if she hadn't kicked me out already for managing my business in her business. I am sure she was a lovely woman. A lovely lethal woman.

"I know deep down you love me, Mrs Ciggy." I winked cheekily. "You know, I read something good in the cards for you today."

"What a coincidence, I saw something, too; you stopped wandering around here, messing with my clientele." She joked. If I didn't know her, though, I would think she actually didn't want me to step in her store anymore. Even so, I smiled nervously and opened my bag at a table near the bar.

"When did you start with this card business, ______?" Ciggy asked.

"Mmm..." I looked up to the ceiling unconsciously. "I think it's been five months already."

"Five? Time flies, it seems as if it was yesterday when you begged that I let you work here." She laughed.

"Pff, I did not _beg_." I answered with less confidence than what I would've wanted. Ciggy rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, sure." She put out her cigar on the ashtray. "Then maybe I won't let you wander about anymore." Her words made you open your mouth in surprise. "Unless you give me 40% of your earnings." She joked again...or so I wanted to believe.

"When I reach my goal, I swear I will pay you back for all your gratitude." I emphasized the word all.

"With interests." She pointed at me with her index finger.

"With interests." I reassured her, laughing.

If I was not mistaken, in two months I should have enough money to sail to Fatamorgana Island. I held the necklace I was wearing: my grandad's present. I opened the locket and looked at the picture he put in there. It was my grandpa and me, smiling, looking at our left instead of the camera because we saw a boar chasing our neighbour. The memory made me laugh in silence.

My parents died with many other people in the nearest island, Magari, on a journey to try and explore it, since there were rumours that a devil fruit could be found there. They were explorers, so while they investigated with their crew, I stayed with my grandpa.

Sadly, they told us the ship was wrecked. No survivors were found. I still remember how many tears I cried. I wasn't the only one that lost their relatives on that trip, and lots of children had to go to live at the orphanage. So, I am glad I could live with my grandpa, who raised me. He was also the one who taught me everything I knew about tarot. The only difference is that I never believed in it, but at least now I could make a living out of it. The only thing I believed was this story he told me... He said that in Fatamorgana, a treasure was hidden, a big one, and no one had ever seen it. The first time he told me this story, he gave me this locket with our picture. He was such a humble man, when I asked him if he wanted to have it, he told me he didn't. He just wanted to see something as beautiful as the legends told.

Maybe because I wanted to hold on to something from my past, I wanted to embark on to that island and find the treasure. Then, I could show my grandfather the thing he longed for. I even surprised myself when I realized I wanted to find that treasure, even though it could be just another false tale people told their children to go to sleep. But the way he told it as if he was living it as if he could see the island when closing his eyes, hear the sound of birds, his steps on the sand... I closed the locket.

Coming back to reality, I pulled out a tablecloth for my crystal ball, my tarot cards and some jewels such as quartz, amber and amethyst. Good, now the hardest part. My eyes scanned the room for a prey, I mean, client. I saw a guy who was chugging down his third beer, accompanied by another two guys. Bingo.

"My, my, what do we have here!" I exclaimed, sitting in front of the man who had the unfriendliest face I had ever seen. And my presence seemed to made it worse. "I can see you're in the middle of a very important journey... Isn't that right, Tank?"

The man opened his eyes slightly, not wanting to show his surprise at me knowing his name.

"How do you know my name, woman?"

"Buddy, your poster is on every wall near these streets, don't let her scam you." The crewmate on his right answered before I could. The one on the left seemed to be sleeping, head on the table. Sleeping, or dead from drinking too much.

"Are you doubting my clairvoyance abilities?" I asked with an air of superiority. I had to show I was not a scammer. Even though I was. It was part of the job.

"Yes!" Tank's crewmate burped for 12 seconds. Yes, I counted them. Some horrible twelve seconds they were "Fuck your _clair...cleg...lairom..._ "

" _Clervmoran_!" his mate, who started on his fourth beer, "helped" him.

"Exactly, _clervmoran!_ "

"What did you call me, moron?" Slurred the guy on the left. Oh, he wasn't dead.

This theatre started to attract people's attention. Great, it was time.

I got up from my chair and started to walk down the corridor of tables until I was in front of the only window in the place.

"If you don't believe me..." I whispered at the same time I put a strand of hair behind my ear, my ring shining thanks to the little light that entered through the window. Damn, if I just had gotten here later, I would've missed my chance... "I curse this offence with the fury of ravens upon your corpses."

I could've sworn that half of the bar... Who am I trying to lie to? Everyone in the whole bar would've laughed at my face if a flock of ravens hadn't entered through the window at the perfect time, causing a ruckus among the people. Now their faces were either worried or concerned. Perfect.

"Boss, is this for real?" The first guy mumbled to the guy I thought was dead, flailing his arms to prevent the crows from pecking him. He only clicked his tongue, annoyed.

I snapped my fingers, stopping the erratic flight of the birds.

"Honey, can you get these filthy animals out from here?" Ciggy said while cleaning some glasses without lifting her gaze from her work. She also didn't believe in my tricks, but I was grateful she did not blow the whistle.

"Sorry Ciggy" I smiled innocently and went to the window, snapping my fingers twice in direction to the window so the birds would exit, which they did. If I was lucky, no one would've seen that I also threw the ring that attracted them in the first place. I tried to tame these birds for my schemes, but they didn't help me gratis et amore. Their participation was the result of breadcrumbs and seeds. A lot of them. But it was worth it, and I took joy in the fact that they liked shiny things so much. Wait, how the hell was Ciggy washing the glasses with a hook?

An eerie laugh brought me out of my thoughts. It was none of the last guys. Even they shuddered in front of the new addition.

"So, the little girl is not just words, huh?" A 2-meter tall man with red hair spoke. Sorry, did I say spoke? I meant roared. Hell, even I wanted to fly out of that window right now.

"Kid, it's not worth it, she is a scammer." A masked man said with a calm voice. Too calm for someone named Killer. Ah, yes, I saw their posters on the street before coming here. There is where I saw the pirate nicknamed Tank, which was a piece of helpful information. But I would have never imagined I would find two Supernovas in this place. I definitely should've been more careful.

"What if she's a devil fruit user?" A blue-dreaded pirate answered the blonde one. The latter shrugged.

Before I could think of a joke with the variety of hair colours on that table, the captain of the crew got up and got close to my table with a sinister smile.

"Read my fortune."

Sorry, what? I didn't get out of bed thinking one of the most dangerous pirates wanted me to read his fortune. I would have gotten excited if it wasn't for the fact that, probably, he wasn't going to pay me. Or maybe the payment would be not to rip my limbs. I should hurry and grab the cards.

I sat on my chair, not knowing if I should look him in the eye or not. I think I once read that looking in the eye of a wild animal was considered as aggression... I shuffled the cards and offered him a row of them.

"Choose three." I looked up. Oh shit, I looked him in the eye. Thankfully, he didn't notice or ignored my growing worry.

He took three cards and laid them on the table with weariness, although his smirk said something different. He looked like a child that wanted to act as if he didn't like cake but, in reality, wanted to eat it whole. I forgot to mention, I had fed birds with my own hands and never have I been so scared that my fingers could be ripped off.

I took the cards and turned them around on the cloth: The Chariot, the Temperance and the Three of Cups.

"What does it mean?" He ordered, instead of asking. I did not want to keep him waiting, so I put on my role of the magic oracle.

"The Chariot and the Temperance mean a very fortunate journey... No doubt, very soon you'll find a great surprise on your journey. The thirds card confirms me that you will be successful." I said, faking I was confident. A mask that Eustass Kid's gaze took off. He bent down on the table menacingly.

"That's all? Killer was right, then..." He stretched his arms, and before he could decide to snap my neck like a little branch, the fear made me say the following words.

"Not at all," I cleared my throat since the fear made my voice two pitches higher "that's only the results... Now, the details".

I had his interest again. I was risking it all now. I had to tell him what he wanted to hear, and he had to believe me. Here goes nothing. I breathed in, knowing I would regret my next words...

"The third island... When you sail, in the third island, Fatamorgana is where the treasure awaits." Before he could ask what treasure, I changed the subject. "But don't be naïve. Nobody has ever found it. The legends say anyone who dared to enter the island would die in their search for glory.

I sensed how his ego was hurt and I was expecting him to tell me he was not like any other shitty pirate on this bar.

"You think I'm someone like them?"

Hey, I did see the future for once. Eustass pointed at the three pirates from before. I could have sworn they only nodded; they didn't even get offended. Understandable, honestly. "I have heard those stories. I'll be the first one to find that treasure" he smiled triumphantly, pointing at his chest with his thumb.

I wanted to tell him that good luck, then pick up my stuff and head home before the crows would evolve and learn to mutiny against me for not feeding them. In fact, I got up from my chair and started to organize my cards with a fake smile characteristic of a waiter on a bad day. I knew I had made a mistake when the redhead grabbed my wrist forcefully, making me throw some of the cards on the floor. My smile fell with them, showing my actual emotion right now. Fear.

"And you are going to help me find it."

Okay, I have messed up a lot of times in my life, but this is the time I regret it the most. For some reason, I thought the difficulty would dissuade him. Big mistake. Of course, this psychopath would love that dangerous idea. And the worst thing is I was involved in this dangerous idea. A part of me would have joked that this wasn't that bad. "Hey, now you don't have to wait two more months to head to Fatamorgana. Yay!". I would've preferred to wait seven more months if needed before being in a ship with these people.

I was so shocked by the situation I didn't know what to say. My answer wouldn't have changed the outcome, anyways. The last thing I saw before exiting the place were my fallen cards on the floor. All turned over except two: The Sun and the Hermit.

_**They mean an impostor will be unmasked.** _

_**** _


	2. Ill-fated

"Didn't you see that coming in your magic ball?" another voice from the crew of the Kid Pirates mocked me. This joke only started two minutes ago, but it felt like an eternity. I should've seen it coming. Oh, shit, I fell for it, too.

The same blue-haired guy from before came with my bag. Did he bother to pick up my stuff to bring them to me? Wow, maybe I judged them too soon.

"Captain, what do we do with this?"

"There's only trash, isn't there? Throw it somewhere". Kid answered as if it were obvious.

I take it back, fuck them.

"Wait! I need that bag... if you want me to be able to help you find the treasure, of course". I couldn't help but lower my head with those last words. Time to pray.

Kid sighed and made a gesture with his hand, which I understood as "It can't be helped". Right after that, the blue-hair threw the bag at my face. Thank God I have reflexes and caught it just in time. I was going to thank him, but after thinking it through, he didn't deserve it.

"Are you going to trust a swindler, Kid?". The blond, Killer, said. I was also asking myself the same question, and no possible answer made me feel better.

"It's up to her". He looked at me as if he were a lion. His gaze was even more menacing, I would say. He got closer, and at each step, he looked as if he was getting bigger. "If she's speaking the truth, she could be useful on our way. However, if she lies..." I could smell his breath due to his face's proximity, and I could practically identify the liquor he was drinking. Rum, maybe, I wasn't an expert. He didn't finish his sentence, but it wasn't necessary. I understood it clearly.

Killer sighed and looked at me. Well, I couldn't tell with the mask, so he just turned his head in my direction, I guess. Let me try and use my psychic powers... Hmm, yep, clearly, he's thinking: "She won't last a minute on the ship". I agree.

"Where's your ring?"

"Pardon?" I answered a few seconds too late, surprised by his question.

"Weren't you wearing a ring before?" He pointed to my hand. _F-u-c-k._ He was observant. If this was any normal situation in the tavern, I could have made anyone believe they never saw a ring, in the first place. But now I felt as if my lies were written on my forehead. Change of plans.

"Oh, you're right". I looked at my bare hand, faking a subtle surprise, puckering my lips in defeat. His silence made me nervous, and I continued talking, even though that was probably his intention. "Well, it wasn't anything valuable". I bit my lip and looked at the path that led to my home. The crows were probably waiting for me there. Sorry, guys. I regret not training them as bodyguards.

Killer just nodded. I don't know if he was convinced or not.

"Move, assholes! We're going" Eustass called his crew, and everyone started to walk towards the ship, the Victoria Punk. I wouldn't have moved from my spot, hoping I could find a moment of distraction to escape if only the flood of sweaty men didn't push me in the same direction. These were going to be very long days if I survived the first one.

The sight of the Victoria Punk had me in awe as much as it disturbed me. I wouldn't have liked to have an encounter with that once I had set sail with my own boat. It was a giant ship with black sails and a sharp-fanged jaw on the bow of the ship. I wondered what animal had that big of a mouth. Could they open and close? I gulped.

Everyone got on the ship. Killer was by my side as to not lose sight of me. As if I wanted to try to do something stupid like running away now. Ha, no, thank you. I would have lost both my arms before I could even pat him on the back. Maybe my legs, too. I didn't want to test it. Killer guided me to a big room, where the captain sat on a round table in the middle. He was looking at some maps with a frown.

"Girl, come here". He ordered without taking his gaze away from the map. "Tell me something I don't know".

I got close to the table, but his last order left me in confusion, so I just looked at him, waiting for an explanation, even though that would probably anger him.

"That legend is not well-known, but that doesn't mean you didn't lie". He sounded pissed off. "Prove you know more than what the legends tell". He almost whispered the end.

Grandpa, now more than ever I hope your stories were real. I nodded. I didn't want to take too long to answer, so I took my crystal ball. I had to fake I was receiving that information somehow.

"Can I?" I asked, almost placing the ball on the table. Eustass just moved aside a little bit, and I took it as a yes. After placing it down, I laid a hand on the ball, without touching the crystal. I closed my eyes to concentrate, even though I quickly regretted this. It wasn't a good idea to not see the two beasts that were in the room with me right now.

"The next island is Magari, four days from here... Then, Apricus, two weeks from the next one, and lastly, Fatamorgana". I moved my hand around the ball. "It is not clear exactly how long it takes to get there, but I reckon... less than two months". I opened my eyes to see their reactions. I was glad I had my journey prepared beforehand.

"What do you mean it is not clear? The cartographer told me it would only take a month". He showed me the map as if I had offended him.

"That map can't be right" I murmured, squinting my eyes to think "There's some kind of passageway on the sea before getting to the island. It has very sharp rocks that would shatter the ship if you tried to cross that quickly".

This was true. My grandfather told me how every single movement of the ship would have to be controlled, watching out for the wind and the currents to not get converted into skewers. It seemed it wasn't common knowledge, which made me feel relief. Maybe they wouldn't throw me to the sea, after all.

Eustass brushed his face with his hand, wrinkled his nose and nodded slightly.

"Continue". He said, and Killer also looked more interested. I closed my eyes again, but I blanked out. What else was I supposed to say to him? I remembered some anecdotes of dangerous situations, but I didn't know in which order they would find them or anything. Swindler mode: ON.

"It's too far..." I shook my head. "I can't see beyond that, there's a dense fog. We would need to be closer to the island".

Thank goodness, Eustass looked pleased and nodded, getting up from his chair.

"Good. When we get closer, you'll do your tricks or whatever again to warn us of any danger, understood? If any of the people I care die, you'll wish you had died too, did I make myself clear?"

"Yes". I answered by force of habit with a dry throat. I grabbed my crystal ball and placed it inside my bag again.

"Captain". He said, and I tilted my head in confusion. Eustass nailed a dagger on the table, making me jump. Since when had he had it in his hands? "If you want to earn the same prestige to be treated as an equal in this crew, you should start to treat me as your captain".

I almost couldn't help making a weird face that could have been read as a: "Really, bro?", but I appreciate my life.

"Yes, captain". I felt my dignity leaving me as I pronounced those words. But at least this meant they could not make me walk the plank at any time... right?

I could've sworn I saw him smile, satisfied. Ew.

"Killer, tell Heat or Wire they're in charge of her. Or whoever it is, I don't care". He returned to the maps. "Oh, and tell that shitty mapmaker to come here". He took the dagger. I couldn't help but feel as if his nearing death was my fault. The blonde neither was a seer, but I think he also imagined Eustass slashing the mapmaker as soon as he entered the room.

"Sure". His second hand answered and gave me a small push to exit the door.

Stepping out on the deck, the first thing that welcomed me was a gentle breeze and the picture of the sun setting down behind the horizon. A serene scene, if it wasn't for the tumult created by the crew talking and preparing the ship to set sail. I didn't know you needed to pull that many ropes.

Killer went ahead, leaving my standing in front of the door. I didn't know if I had to follow him or not, so when I didn't receive a second push, I decided to say put. Killer didn't seem to mind. I sighed in relief. I looked around and no one seemed to pay attention to me. Good.

Let's revise what happened. Today I had prepared this performance with crows to get some dough. Something simple. I would simply enter the tavern, make some clients call me a liar so I could fake I cursed them. Then, the crows would enter through the window, lured by my ring. People would believe me and asked me to tell them their fortune. It was the perfect plan! But no, luck was not on my side, and I had to tell the wrong guy his fortune. Maybe I should have read my own fortune before getting out of the home.

But I didn't, and now I was trapped in this pirate ship until we found the treasure. I got nervous. What if it was a lie? What if there was no treasure? What if, even if it existed, we couldn't find it? They would throw me to the waters (if they were feeling benevolent) for making them lose their time. Albeit drowning wasn't the most enjoyable, I would rather not think of any other ways they could dispose of me. Just one was enough.

I saw Killer coming back with someone behind him.

"This is Toba. He's in charge of you. Don't be a nuisance to him". Wow, he said that so dryly I almost offered him a glass of water. I just nodded. The blond walked away, and Toba waved at me.

"So, you're the witch?" He laughed. I arched my eyebrow in response. "Oops, am I gonna get cursed?". He continued to laugh out loud. It seemed my grim face made him stop laughing. "Come on, it was just a joke, geez". He gave me two pats on the back, and I almost fall to the floor. My god, he was strong... Better take note of that. I wouldn't have said so looking at his slender frame, but I guess that everyone on this ship needed to be strong enough to fight in the New World. And I wasn't part of that "everyone on this ship".

When I was little, I did most of the heavy lifting on the farm, since my grandfather, of course, couldn't take care of anything. I also participated sometimes (more times than what I would have wanted) in illegal fights on the streets because I wanted to bring more money home. But these guys' level was different than the delinquents back home, who I could beat with little effort. I wasn't even fit to tie their shoelaces.

"Well, normally I wouldn't be particularly delighted to be forced to take care of a brat, but I slipped away from my cleaning tasks, so you're lucky". I took his words as a threat and derision. Yeah, very lucky. "Follow me, I'll take you to your room".

I didn't want to move, but I followed him, nonetheless. He tried to start a conversation meanwhile, and I tried to memorize each turn and every nook and cranny of that part of the ship we walked through.

"Are you gonna explain to me why is there a witch on our ship and why do I have to be in charge of her?" He said, looking in front of him.

"Didn't your superior tell you?" I answered, with maybe too much arrogance, having in mind I was in an inferior position. I regretted instantly and hoped that he didn't get mad.

"I wouldn't be asking then". He smacked my head playfully as if he was talking with a friend, but his eyes were serious. A warning.

"Your captain wants my help to get to Fatamorgana and find the treasure". I said, almost whispering without really knowing why.

"Ohh, so you see the future and that stuff, I see". He answered cheekily. "Hey! Could you read my future?". He got excited.

Alright, what the heck was wrong with these people and predictions? I learned my lesson on telling dangerous pirates their future and I wasn't going to commit the same mistake again.

"I don't... I don't think I should". I replied, not knowing how to respond. I wasn't brave enough to reject his request.

"Why not?" He sounded like an offended child. We were walking down some stairs, and the situation was stressing me out already. Maybe I could not get my revenge physically, but I could play with his mind... I smiled in my head.

"Are you sure you want to know?" I looked at him with a scared expression, as if I saw a ghost where he was. I got the reaction I was hoping for since Toba jumped.

"W-what do you mean? No, no, don't tell me, nevermind". He opened a door. It seemed we were already there. "This is your room. I'll come to get you tomorrow". He slurred.

"Thank you, Toba". I responded with fake kindness. "Oh, by the way... Don't get too close to the railing, will you? Especially when the storm comes".

"Storm...?" He whispered, and I knew he was imagining himself falling overboard. "Y-yes! Thank you!" He went running upstairs.

______: 1 – Pirates: 0. I entered the room and stretched with a triumphant smile. I didn't actually know if there was going to be a storm, but being in the New World, it wouldn't be something weird. I suppressed a laugh imagining Toba scared if someone warned of bad weather. I would have kept rejoicing if it wasn't because I realized I wasn't in a room. I was in the hold of the ship, the cellar, were some barrels and flour bags were stacked. I hoped those bags weren't supposed to be my bed. Well, what was I expecting? They were pirates. Thinking it through, this was a luxury having my situation into consideration.

I left my bag upon a barrel and sat down on a wooden box that looked like it wouldn't break with my weight. I sighed. And only in that moment of peace, of absolute silence, I realized the seriousness of the situation. Kidnapped by pirates. The Kid Pirates, known for being cruel, cold-hearted killers. And I had to be here, like in prison, until they found the treasure or until my presence bothered them too much. I wasn't even sure they would let me free once the treasure would be found. "Thank you for your help, miss. Now that we have a fucking ton of gold, you can keep the 10% in compensation for the inconvenience. We will take you back to your island". Yeah, not happening.

I dried the tears that started to run down my cheeks without notice. On the one hand, I felt a weight was taken off my shoulders, and on the other hand, I felt crying only made me more worried. I don't know if an hour or more passed until someone opened the door. Shit. I hastily dried my face and collected myself. I didn't want them to see me cry. I didn't want them to know this affected me. The echo of steps was getting closer. It was very dark; if I was lucky, I could pass as one of the barrels.

"Here". It was Killer's voice. He threw me a kind of drag that fell on my head. It was... a blanket? I would have rejected it out of pride, but on second thought, down there was going to be very cold, especially at night.

"Thank you...". I whispered, worried that my voice still had traces of having cried recently. He didn't respond. Before exiting through the door, he stopped and turned his head.

"Wouldn't you happen to know why Toba is so nervous since I left you with him, now, would you?". He asked me, but I was sure he already knew the answer. I shrugged.

"Coincidence?" I scratched the back of my neck. He walked away from the door to sit in a barrel in front of me. If he was already tall standing, up there he looked like Zeus sat on his throne.

"Like when those crows entered the tavern at that instant, I suppose. Pure coincidence". He scratched his chin. "I thought swindlers were good liars". My expression didn't falter against his accusations. I was used to them; it was important not to get intimidated.

"Maybe it's because I'm not a swindler". Killer got up.

"Maybe". He continued walking to the door. "But you made one mistake on your prediction in the tavern". Even though I didn't show it, I was nervous. Had he found out? "Not every person who entered the island has died there".

Killer, without further words, closed the door behind him.


	3. Place your bets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ______ = your name  
> ___ = nickname or abbreviation of your name

The sunlight through the window or the caws of the crows asking for food would normally wake me up. But not today. An alarm clock wouldn't have been necessary anyway. I was already awake. How much did I sleep? ...Two hours, at most? Not surprising though, I don't think anyone could sleep in a pirate ship after being kidnapped.

I got up with difficulty, stretching. Ouch, ouch... Sleeping on the wood planks wasn't a good idea. I stretched my neck carefully. Crack. I didn't dare to lay on one of those flour bags, even though the idea was more tempting now. Although I admit I used one as a pillow. I will think of something for the following nights. Following... I shook my head, wanting to evade intrusive thoughts in the early morning.

The rest of the ship seemed to be in silence. Just a slight creaking of the wood and the rocking of the ship against the waves was heard. What time is it? I wish I had a window there, but then I thought it would be a stupid idea. Unless I wanted the water to fill the room and drown. I will save that as my last option.

Someone opened the door, making me jump. I realized no one seemed to knock before entering a room in this ship. Yet again, it would probably be something they did with me, who could not complain.

"Good morning! Ehm..." It was Toba. He stopped in the middle of the sentence, not knowing what to say. He let out a silly laugh. "Where were my manners? I didn't ask for your name yesterday". I sighed.

"______". I answered, jaundiced. I didn't want to see his punkie mohawk at such early hours. Not my definition of a good start of the day.

"Yeah, right, ______... Nah, too long, I'll call you... ___? ___?". He started to say nicknames. "Tch, why do you have such a difficult name to abbreviate?"

"You can just not abbreviate it". I answered. Please, don't abbreviate it.

"Well, I'll stick with ______ for the moment". He offered me a big smile, ignoring my previous petition. I saw he had a golden tooth. Kid Pirate's aesthetic, I guess. "Now get your ass moving, or you won't get any breakfast".

If I were a dog, my ears would have perked up like aerials. Food. I didn't even remember how hungry I was. As if it had been summoned, my stomach growled, and I got up from the barrel to go to the door. Toba shook his head, laughing, and guided me to the deck. Once again, I tried to memorize the path we took. You never know when you may need it.

Toba opened the door of what looked like the dining hall: a big chamber with various rectangular tables, long enough to fit all the members of the crew. There were no chairs. Instead, there were planks like picnic tables had. My heart started to beat faster when I saw the room was full, and that almost everyone turned around to look at me. I wanted to look down, but I didn't want to show submission, so I looked at Toba, who still had that clown smile and guided me to a table without paying attention to the choir of gossips and curious looks.

"Hey Toba, since when is there a woman in the crew?" Spoke a guy with a full mouth. Actually, it sounded more like: _"Fey Tofa, simfe when if there a womam in the croo?"._

"I found out yesterday". He sat down, and I did the same thing. "Oh, but she's not exactly part of the crew". He extended his index finger and bent down a bit on the table.

While they were talking, a third person offered me a plate of food. I accepted it without thinking. I thanked him and, seeing that other people were eating, I took it as a sign that I could start, too. The guy who gave me the plate, dressed in a cloak with horns and a trident, nodded at my gratitude. I saw that he also used fishnet stockings. Everyone had quite an... extravagant sense of fashion, so I didn't think much about it and continued enjoying my food. It was a simple dish of rice and fish, but it tasted like the heavens.

A revolting laugh made everyone on the table jump in surprise.

"Wait, wait, wait". The first guy continued to laugh without being able to breathe. If Toba was slim, he was the opposite. He had the most roundish body I had ever seen. "You're telling me that she saw the captain's future, but she didn't see that she would screw up? Oh god, that's funny". He fell off the chair out of laughter. I was worried he would deflate from laughing so much.

If you put it like that... it did sound a little bit ridiculous, and I couldn't help but get embarrassed. But Toba also started laughing, and everyone followed with mocking smiles.

I scoffed, and I tried to hold in my own laughter. Okay, it was funny. A seer that doesn't see her own misfortune? It was the perfect joke, I admit it.

"Was that a giggle, ___?" Toba jested.

"What? Of course not". I tried to hide it and continued to eat.

"Of course you did"

"Did not"

"Yes"

"No

"Yes"

"No"

"No"

"Yes"

"Aha! I knew it, you laughed". Stated Toba with a triumphant smile.

It took me a while to process it... What had just happened? It seemed this episode only brought more laughter, and the balloon-guy (who had been on the floor the whole time) climbed to the table.

"Did I miss another joke?"

I rolled my eyes and kept eating. I realized the blue-haired guy sitting in front of me was the same guy from the tavern.

_ "What if she's a devil fruit user?" A blue-dreaded pirate answered the blonde one. The latter shrugged. " _

"Did you call her ___?" asked the man who looked like a voodoo doll.

"It's the nickname I gave her. Suits her, huh?" Toba answered, and my face looked a sight. I didn't want to believe it. The first guy looked at me, looking for a better answer.

"My name's ______". I answered, not so sure if I was allowed to talk to him. Toba just laughed.

"Pass me some bread, Heat".

Heat. That was this guy's name. When we finished breakfast, I also discovered the name of the guy who offered me the plate: Wire. Even though he did not talk during the whole meal. I remembered those were the two names that Eustass mentioned. Such a shame that Killer thought it was a better idea to leave me with the energetic ball that was Toba. He never stopped moving around.

Suddenly, I thought if Eustass and Killer would be there, too. I peeked around, to no avail. Heat spoke.

"If you're looking for the captain he normally eats in his workshop".

"Oh" I simply answered. I didn't want to admit that, indeed, I was looking for him. I didn't want to ask about the blondie.

Someone from another table called Wire, who got up and went into that direction. Everyone had finished, so when Toba got up, I did, too. We got outside on the deck. It was a sunny day, and I could swear Toba was relieved. I guess he did not forget my omen.

"I can't miss cleaning duty today". He complained. "And neither can you". He threw one of the mops leaning on the wall at me and grabbed another one for himself. "Let's get cleaning".

I sighed. At least I would have something to do. And I would have an excuse to explore the ship. If I was lucky, I would discover any useful information in case I needed it in the future.

I don't know how many hours went by, but the sun told me it was around midday. I cleaned the sweat on my forehead with my arm. How could the ship be so dirty? There weren't just muddy footsteps everywhere. There were bloodstains. Blood. I didn't want to think about what happened there or if it was recent. At least it went by pretty quickly with Toba and other guys cleaning.

The floor was clean now, and polishing the railing was the only thing left. I was going to take a rag that was hanging by the railing, when I saw Toba a few meters behind, near the mast. Oh, right, he didn't want to get near. I cursed at myself for feeling bad for him. He was a pirate! Even if he looked dumb, he was a murderer, a thief, and God knows what other crimes he committed. But it was my fault for lying... Tch, I hope I won't regret this.

"Toba," I threw him on of the rags. "why don't you clean the stairs? I'll clean over here".

"O-oh, yeah, sure". He answered nervously but faking he was not relieved by it.

I sighed. I was going to make this ship as clean as a whistle.

Luckily, the last part was quicker to finish. I was sitting against the mast, resting. Toba thanked me in private for not having to get close to the railing and told me I could rest as a reward. I had my eyes closed, but I noticed a change in the light. Clouds? I opened my eyes, and oh god, no, that wasn't a cloud. I got scared, thinking it was Eustass when I saw something red. But for better or worse it was just Wire.

He gestured something with his hands. At first, I was confused, but I quickly understood. Sign language.

"Ehm..." I started, without knowing what to say. Wire seemed to realize he was talking with me and not with other members who probably could communicate with him.

He grabbed me by the collar like a pup and lifted me off the floor. Next, a sign with his hand that indicated that I had to follow him. I didn't want to keep him waiting.

He took me to the poop deck (which didn't have anything to do with actual... you know... poop). There was a tumult of people. They seemed to be planning something. Oh, god. I saw Toba among those other pirates, and he came to us after seeing Wire.

"Oh, hell no. Wire, when I told you to look for someone, I didn't mean this". He pointed at me. "Sorry, her".

Wire signed: **"You said anyone would work".**

"Yeah, yeah, but... Look at her! She wouldn't last a single round" Toba said, annoyed. I didn't know what they were talking about, but I was offended anyway.

" **Let her try".**

Toba brought his hands to his head. He looked at me.

"Do you know how to fight?"

"Pardon?" I wasn't expecting that question.

"Today was betting night, and Jack was one of the rivals, but..." Wire continued his sentence, slicing his hand over his neck and sticking his tongue out as if he was getting killed. Oh, lord.

"Was by any chance Jack the cartographer?" I questioned, fearing the worst.

"Yeah, how did you know?" Toba said, looking at me suspiciously.

"T-the cards, you know..." I replied. I didn't inspire confidence, and Wire's expression in disbelief only confirmed my suspicions. But Toba nodded.

"Right, right". He laughed and winked at me as if he was keeping a secret between us two. At least he seemed to believe me.

"No one else wants to participate, and if the captain sees the fight won't carry out he will get mad. Have you seen the captain get mad? You don't want to see the captain get mad". He said so quickly I thought he was rapping. Okay, he had a point, but none of those tough guys wanted to participate for a reason. Why should I do it?

"Who's the other challenger?" I asked, in fear of knowing it was an eight feet tall dude. Eight feet in height and width. But no, he pointed to a pretty average guy. It was so unexpected I almost laugh. He wasn't scrawny, but he also wasn't buffed with giant muscles, unlike Eustass or Killer... Why am I talking about their muscles?

"And no one wants to fight with him?" I asked. Something wasn't right, but for some reason, I plucked up some courage. "I have thrown bigger guys to the floor".

"You?" Toba laughed. "Now, I have to see that".

**"Is it decided, then?"**

"Yeah, tell them". He answered and turned to look at me. "___, you saved our lives". He exaggerated and was going to hug me. Shocked, I dodged him, making him hug the floor. Wire facepalmed.

"Sorry, I got carried away". He groaned and got up. "At least you have reflexes... Good, when the sun goes down, we start. I'll come get ya".

»»——————————⍟———————————««

And here I was until the sun left me on my own. I wondered why I accepted this. I didn't actually know how strong these guys were, and from my limited observations, I could tell they were powerful. At least Wire tried to tell me that weapons were not allowed. Just close combat. No rules.

The last part reminded me of a period in my life I was not very proud of, in Imbir, my hometown, where I lived with my fathers until the tragedy and later with my grandfather his last years. I remember how each day that passed, he looked weaker... It was then when I decided I had to do something. I couldn't take care of the farm on my own, and since my grandpa couldn't work without starting to cough or to get dizzy, our earnings decreased. For that reason, I joined illegal fights that took place in the most precarious part of the city. It was easy money. At first, they laughed, seeing I was a 14-year-old brat. I wasn't good enough to win any fights. The bruises I obtained were proof of it.

But every night for four years I went there to fight. It was hard to hide the wounds from my grandpa. I think, deep down, he knew it, but he never opposed it, even though I sometimes saw the sadness in his eyes when I got home with a bruised knee. I let out a dry laugh. I must have looked like a clumsy kid for the last three years before he passed away. When I was left alone, I still had a... criminal life for a year. But I decided to change. And now, at the age of 19, I was trying to change my life of a thug for the life of a swindler. And now it looked like I ranked up to pirate level. What an upgrade.

I saw Toba getting close. He gestured with his hand. Until now, I wasn't worried, but seeing my fateful fate so close, I got nervous. I just hoped that in a year I hadn't forgotten everything I knew about fighting.

Despite what my instincts were telling me, I went to the poop deck. I almost turn around immediately after seeing Eustass sat in the middle of the audience, Killer by his side. The rest of the crew was creating a circle for fighting inside. I distinguished some familiar faces, like Wire, Heat or this morning's balloon-guy. Wire was looking at me curiously, expectantly; Heat looked worried, not knowing why it was me the one walking towards the ring. I didn't know, either.

But Eustass seemed pleased at this and got up of his seat.

"Is this a joke?" His smile never left his face. His cheeks must hurt. "Let's make this even more fun, then..." He lowered his voice and stumped on the floor.

"Nat!" Eustass called the guy who was introduced to me before as my challenger. "Pay attention". He looked at me again. "It wouldn't be fair if you risked your life without anything in exchange, now, would it?" He arched an eyebrow. I don't think I like where this is going. "So, if you win both rounds, you can ask for one thing. Deal?".

Deal, you say? Of course, we have a deal. I was going to risk it anyways without a prize in return. I nodded with my head, and his smile grew wider. He turned around and almost hit me with his giant fur coat. He sat down. If I won... maybe my freedom and a boat to escape were implied not to be on the choosing list, but I should at least give it a go. Worst case scenario, I could ask for a decent bed. Wait a minute... did he say both rounds?

The spectators were murmuring. I could hear things like "She's crazy if she thinks she's gonna win", "The captain has gone too far, giving her false hopes", "Doesn't she know who she will fight?". If they were trying to bring me down, they were not doing it right. The same rage that spread inside me the first night I fought in Imbir made its appearance. I stepped into the circle. My opponent, Nat, smiled arrogantly. The same way those bastards in my hometown. I wanted to make a statement: they were committing a big mistake by underestimating me. I'll show them.

Eustass' voice shut the entire sea.

"Let the fight begin!".


	4. Small upgrade

The circle of pirates closed itself, leaving me and my opponent inside. They were stomping their feet on the floor (some with their hands), creating an inharmonious rhythm that reminded me of the drums that announced the beginning of a war.

I felt the adrenaline coursing through my veins and my heart beating at the rhythm of their thumping. Everything started to go slower, and at the same time, it felt like everyone was going much faster than I was.

“You fall three times; you’re out! Toba shouted at me amidst the clamour.

Out of the blue, I was on the floor, a growing sting on my cheek. I wrinkled my face, trying to make the pain go away, and looked up, only to find Nat’s sneer. Behind him, Eustass was watching indifferently, leaning his head on his hand. I saw Killer next to him. He was shaking his shoulders a little bit as if he was laughing. Oh boy, tell me you just didn’t laugh at me.

I returned my attention to Nat, who was getting closer to kick me. When he lifted his leg, I took the opportunity to kick him on his calf, since I was on the floor. He lost his balance and fell backwards.

_One._

I got up. Nat didn’t take his time either and stood on his feet again. His face told me he was not very happy. Neither was I.

Guard high, Nat tried to make me let my guard down by using one hand and tried to hit me with the other one. But he left his right side unprotected, and I could land a punch to his head. I normally wouldn’t aim at those body parts, but an eye for an eye…

He got a bit dizzy. I moved around him in circles while I evaded his attempts to hit me. Some of them, though, I had to stop with my arm. Nat backed off with his upper body, wanting to avoid another hit to the head, but forgot his lower body was exposed. I took the advantage of that and kicked him on his stomach. He fell again, crashing with his crewmates.

_Two._

The audience got him back on his feet, pushing him, shouting, and clapping. He was preparing to charge at me, headed for my legs. I was used to that technique in Imbir, so I moved back just in time. He didn’t get close enough. I turned around him, using his shoulder as support, and climbing up to his back to stop him from getting up.

_Three._

Three. Nat fell three times. I won, didn’t I? I didn’t sense any effort to get me off, so I supposed the fight ended. My hands were slightly trembling against his back. I got up.

Eustass lifted his eyebrows in surprise but was smiling. He started to walk to the middle of the circle, where I was. Oh, shit. What if they didn’t like that I beat their crewmate? Did I make them mad? I closed my eyes when Eustass reached his hand at me.

But no hit ever came. I opened my eyes, fearing the scene I could see, but the pirates were cheering me on. Eustass had my arm lifted into the air as a symbol of victory. I had won. And they weren’t going to kill me for it. I exhaled, not knowing I was holding my breath and relaxed my shoulders.

That meant I could ask for anything, as they promised me. Maybe… maybe I can escape from here.

“The witch has won the first round!” The captain announced mockingly. Everyone laughed, following his lead. “No one expected you to get so far”.

I hate to admit it, but I also had my doubts. But I won. Ha! Take that, assholes. Who did they think I was? It wasn’t that hard. Pff, what a bunch of drama queens… Fuck, wait, first round?

“But you beat Nat on the first round. And since you’re the winner…” Eustass continued. Since I’m the winner, I can get my prize already? “…you go to the last round to fight against Killer”.

…What? WHAT?! Eustass lowered my arm, and I searched for Toba’s face in the crowd as fast as I could. He did not tell me I would have to fight with that fucking beast! On his behalf, he probably didn’t think I would make it, but it would have been nice to know anyway. Toba looked at me like a kid getting caught sticking his hand in the cookie jar, and he mouthed: I’m sorry. No, I will be sorry for listening to you, asshole. I should’ve thrown him overboard myself. No, calm down, calm down… He’s the only little help I have on this ship, it wouldn’t be reasonable to get rid of him.

I didn’t know when I started to hyperventilate. I saw Killer taking his scythes off and carefully leaving them against Kid’s seat. Nope, no, there’s no possible way I can win. What am I saying? I don’t think I’m even going to survive. I against a Supernova whose head was worth 162 million berries. The result was obvious. Now I understand why they insisted so much on telling me I was not going to win…

The circle started with its percussive ritual again, signalling the fight started. Killer didn’t lose time. He full-on charged against my direction. He was too big as to dodge him. In a blink of an eye, I was on the floor with my opponent on top of me. I couldn’t get up. Seeing this, the spectators started a countdown. Ten, nine…

Oh, fuck, I didn’t know I had limited time. I had to do something. Killer grabbed my neck with his hand. Maybe he was getting ready to claim victory, or maybe he wanted to get rid of me in that instant. I held down his wrist with my right hand. With the left one, I grabbed his arm by the back of his elbow so he could not remove his hand from there. I placed my foot next to his leg, on the outer side, and with one last hip movement, I made him roll on the floor, managing to slip away.

I didn’t even have time to think, he had already kicked me again, throwing me against the crowd as I had previously done with Nat. I was left there a few seconds, trying to get back the air that had been snatched away from me. I touched my lips and saw I was bleeding. I think it was from the previous fight, though.

Toba scurried through the people, crouching down to where I was.

“Hey, hey, ___, don’t give up yet”. He took my head with both hands, forcing me to look to where the captain was. He pointed to an hourglass. “You fell twice and Killer only once”.

“I can’t win, Toba…” I could barely answer, swallowing, and breathing in more air than I needed.

“No, you cannot win, but you can end in a tie. If you manage to stay on your feet and don’t let him throw you to the floor until every grain of sand falls… Boom.”

I knew Killer was on his killing mode again when Toba scurried away. I got up by myself. I guess helping people back on their feet was a privilege reserved for those part of the crew. Well, fuck them then, I didn’t need their help.

I just had to hold on until the sand finished falling… I quickly glanced at the hourglass. Big mistake. In no time, Killer was behind me. He grabbed me by the torso, impeding me from moving my arms. I tried to create some space between him and me, so I could crouch down a bit and slip away. But I was too slow; I couldn’t create a shield with my hands between his hands and my neck. Now he had me by the neck.

I didn’t have much more to lose, except for my breath, so I kept looking at the hourglass. Just a little bit more… For a few seconds, I was isolated from the world, the screams, and I could almost hear every grain falling down. Drop, drop, drop…

“At first, I thought you were out of your mind. Or maybe you wanted a better way to die before Kid found out your lies”. He whispered. I felt the air escaping from the holes on his mask while he talked. “But I appreciate the courage”. He exhaled as if he was amused. The hourglass was empty now. Killer let go of me, and I fell to the floor. I took a deep breath.

“It’s a draw!” Eustass shouted, not sounding very happy. Of course, he would’ve preferred to see how I was choked to death. I coughed a little bit.

I felt some arms lifting me up. The sudden movement made my head dizzy. After focusing my eyesight once again, I saw Wire holding me. Toba was behind him.

“Are you still alive?” He asked. I rolled my eyes.

“No”. I answered.

**“She’s alive”.**

“No one was expecting that outcome”. He laughed. He dared to laugh.

“And you didn’t think to tell me that monster was one of the challengers?” I muttered through my teeth. Toba lifted his hands as to say he was innocent.

“I thought you would lose the first round!”

I imagined it, but it hurt, nonetheless. Ouch.

**“So, you bet on Nat?”.**

I looked at Toba, waiting to know what he said.

“Actually, I bet on ___. You know, to be polite and stuff. I was tempted to change it for Nat, but even I have my principles”.

“But I didn’t win against Killer. You lost money, didn’t you?” Toba laughed and shook his hand.

“Nah, it’s obvious Killer would win any of us, so when he joins in, it’s just for the show, and we don’t bet on his round. And thanks to you, I got 2000 berries!”.

“Good for you”. I said sarcastically. I saw something red from the corner of my eye. Wire again?

Oops, nope. It was the captain. I should stop having any expectations, this was starting to get discouraging.

“So, you know how to fight”. He said, crossing his arms. No, these are my tango steps. “What else can you do?” Right now, answer in a very bad way. I didn’t want him to cut my tongue, so I just shrugged. Eustass huffed.

**“Captain, didn’t you make a deal?”.**

“We did,” He looked at me. “but the little witch here didn’t win both rounds. And even though I was gladly surprised, what kind of captain would I be if I didn’t keep my word?” Each word he said seemed spat with venom. He liked to see people suffer. He was going to start walking away, but I stopped him.

“______”.

Eustass turned around to look at me.

“My name’s ______”. I repeated with more intensity and confidence I never thought I could have in front of a pirate.

Eustass smiled and continued his way without saying anything. Toba appeared in the middle of the curse I was trying to throw to the redhead.

“That sucks, ___”. He put his hand on my shoulder. “What were you going to ask for?”

“A boat to escape?” I jested. Something I wouldn’t have said if it was someone else just in case they decided to keep an eye on me more carefully so I wouldn’t steal one and escape.

“Ha, I don’t think the captain would have found that funny”. He said and then whispered with a smile of complicity “But I find it funny. Now, seriously”.

“A decent bed”.

“Oh, right”. Toba looked up. “It’s kinda empty down there”:

“At least there are not rats”. I answered, trying to find the positive side of things.

“Are you sure about that?”. He laughed, and I punched him lightly. He didn’t seem mad about it. Good.

“I’m always sure of things”. I lied, slipping into my oracle role. “And I’m also sure about me not laying a single finger inside that death ring again”.

Toba just laughed. He took me to the infirmary to see if there was anything else apart from the bruises and the cut on my lip. Luckily, there wasn’t. I also discovered that the balloon-guy was the doctor of the ship: Chum. We kept chatting until dinner and until I returned to the cellar. It seemed that Toba trusted me enough to let me go alone. Unlike certain blond, who kept an eye on me every millisecond I was close as if I were a cockroach. It was getting on my nerves.

I was sitting on my favourite box in the cellar, looking at the dark wall until Toba opened the door.

“Pss, ___!” He whispered and threw something at me. “I managed to buy the old hammock of a guy. It is better than sleeping on the floor or on… “. He kicked a flour sack. “…that”.

I opened my eyes in surprise. I looked at the hammock. You could tell it was old, but nothing too exaggerated. It looked clean, which made me happy. I looked at Toba, not knowing what to say.

“Don’t you dare snub your nose, I spent half of what I won”. He said, and I laughed, shaking my head.

“Thanks a lot, Toba”.

The guy just nodded and headed for the door. Did no one know how to say “You’re welcome”? Was it like an unwritten rule?

“Why are you helping me?” I couldn’t help but ask.

Toba stopped in his tracks. He brushed his mohawk with his hand. I almost start laughing, seeing how his hair returned to its original positions after being squashed. He sat on the same barrel Killer sat.

“We’re not that bad. Well, at least not me. You didn’t do anything that deserved making your life a living hell. Listen, I am a pirate. Yes. But I wish someone would have helped me when I got onto this ship”.

I arched an eyebrow.

“Tell me. Why did you become a pirate?” I asked, and Toba laughed dryly.

“Did you also think reading petty guys’ future in a shitty dive through? Oh yeah, this is what I want to do with my life”. He said the last part with a higher-pitched voice and laughed. “No… I also didn’t think about stealing and killing as a job. People take these paths when they have no other option. I lived alone in the streets and stole to survive. One day, I was going to steal from one of this ship’s crewmen. It didn’t end well. But the captain gave me a chance if I could fend for myself. And… here I am. The first days were hard, but behind those tough guys façade… everyone hides something, ___”.

I nodded without a word. Toba was right; every action had its motives behind it. But that didn’t justify their actions. Neither did mine. I guess we were all delinquents in some way.

“My parents died 7 years ago. I started living with my grandfather, who, after his journey, started to feel really sick. At first, I couldn’t believe it, he had always been a strong man. But each day, he seemed to get weaker and weaker”. I bit my lip. “I didn’t want him to worry about the little money we earned, so I joined illegal fights”.

“So that’s why you can kick like that”. He tried to make me smile, and he made it.

“Yeah… When my grandpa died, I continued with a delinquent life. This year I was trying to change that. It’s funny, if I hadn’t tried another way of living, maybe I would’ve also been devoted to piracy”.

“Life’s paths are unexpected. But that shouldn’t be a problem for you. You are able to know everyone’s destiny”. He moved his eyebrows, trying to be funny. I sighed.

“It’s not that easy”. I shook my head. “Oh,” I opened my locket. “this is my grandfather. He taught me everything about tarot”. I showed him the photograph.

“That’s your grandfather?” He asked, a bit shocked.

“Yeah”. I answered although it looked like a question. “Orlando Bonaventura”. I smiled.

Toba didn’t answer. He looked thoughtful. He also realized this and changed to his usual attitude.

“So, you’re ______ Bonaventura? It suits you”.

“Thanks, I guess? Everything alright?”

“Yeah, it’s late. Good night, ___”. He got up and exited.

“Good night, Toba”

I sighed. I looked at the hammock I had in my hands and hanged it between some columns. My back was thankful. I touched my lower lip carefully. Ouch, still hurt… It could be worse, I guess. But I couldn’t stop thinking that Toba was hiding something from me.


	5. Pies to success

Two days until we reached Magari. Chum, the doctor, was putting me an ointment to heal the wound on my lip. Even though that was the least painful of all, my muscles were sore because of yesterday’s fight. A bruise over here, another one over there… I stopped thinking about it before I started reminiscing those bad times in Imbir. I didn’t want to remember it. Especially that day…

“Done, in a few days it should disappear”. Chum cleaned his glasses. I wondered why he was wearing them if they didn’t have lenses. “You didn’t eat much at breakfast”. He told me.

“Neither did you”. I answered with a yawn. Chum giggled.

“Neither did everyone. It happens when Heat’s second team is in charge of cooking”.

“Second team?”

“Yeah, the first team is lead by Killer. He’s one of the few that can cook something decent. But when he’s busy with the captain in his workshop, Heat replaces him. And as you’ve seen, he’s prone to burn things…” I nodded, remembering a piece of burnt meat I mistook as leather.

“Chum, do you know where I can find Heat?”

“At this time of the day” He put back his medicine bottles in a pantry. “he should be in the poop deck. Look around”. I thanked him and got out of the infirmary.

« What else can you do? ». Eustass’ words resonated in my mind. I was thinking about it, and I decided that the best I could do was to be on good terms with as many people as possible.

• Guiding them to a treasure✔

• Risking my health to save the betting night✔

• Prevent them from getting poisoned by Heat’s food

Although the second goal also won me some bad looks of people who bet against me. No one likes to lose money, I get it. But at least the other half of people seemed happy with the outcome. I had to start somewhere.

Lost in my thoughts, I reached the poop deck. Heat was playing dice with a group of pirates almost as extravagant as them.

They seemed to be betting again, so I understood this was where this type of games took place in.

Suddenly, I thought this was not a good idea. I wasn’t that close with them, it was risky. I was going to head back when one of the mates of the blue-haired guy noticed me, and pointed at me with his head, alerting the rest.

I froze in place and smiled innocently at Heat, waving with my hand sticking close to my torso. Heat got up and walked towards me.

“Everything alright?”

“Yeah, uhm…”. Shit, now what? Hey, your food sucks, let me cook? No, definitely not, he was not going to like that. “What…what are you guys playing?” Heat looked at me like I lost my mind (or maybe it was his usual expression), but he was patient with me.

“We’re betting on that pile”. He pointed to a mountain of coins and other valuable items like watches or gems. “In a bit will be my turn and I’ve almost lost everything”. He complained. “You in?”.

An idea popped inside my head.

“Whoever gets a seven takes it all, right?”. Heat said yes, and that was all I needed. “I’ll be right back, wait a minute”.

I sprinted towards the cellar and opened my bag. I picked up my dice. Loaded dice. What kind of swindler would I be if I hadn’t these beauties in my possession? I also grabbed my pocket watch and returned to where Heat was waiting for me. His turn didn’t come yet, thank god I hadn’t been slow.

“Sorry! I wanted to get this”. I showed him the watch. Like pretty much everything, it was my grandpa’s inheritance, and I wouldn’t have liked to lose it in a bet, but I knew I was going to win. Well, Heat was going to win. I would help him get back what he had lost, and I would offer to help him cook. A perfect plan. “Can we participate together? If we win, you can keep everything except the watch”.

Heat seemed more than pleased and took me to the pirate group. There wasn’t much space, so he sat me on his knee. I placed the watch upon the golden mountain, and the guy on our left threw the dice. A 2 and a 3. That was a close call. The rest scoffed, and he offered me the dice. I took them and faked they fell off my hand by mistake.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry”. I bend over to “pick them up”, but in reality, I changed them for the loaded dice. I sat again and threw them on the table.

A three and a four. Seven. I faked I was shocked. The rest of the pirates threw their arms in the air, desisted, and grumbled. “Beginner’s luck”, they said. Honey, if you knew… Heat brought the pile of money closed to him, gloating over his friends’ misfortune. Meanwhile, I changed the dice again. If they ever find out, I’m dead meat.

“Was this because of your black magic or pure hazard?” He asked.

“I don’t reveal my secrets”. I winked, and he smiled.

“From now on you’ll be my lucky charm when I bet”. He gave me my pocket watch back, and I thanked him.

“By the way, I’ve been told you’re in charge of the cooking. Can I help?”

“Sure. As long as you don’t want to poison our food”. Something told me he wasn’t joking. I won’t deny I didn’t think about it, but I wouldn’t have been able to manage such a big ship on my own. Whatever, I would find another option. I tried not to think about the irony it was he, among everyone, told me that when his food was practically rat poison, and I shook my head.

“You have my word”. I lifted my hands as a sign of peace.

»»——————————⍟———————————««

Heat brought out today’s ingredients: leftovers of meat (I asked what kind of meat it was, and he didn’t want to answer) and potatoes.

“I think I’ll put it all in a pot”. He stated.

“W-wait, what do you think if we make… meat pies?”. I said the first thing that came to my mind. I didn’t want to know what would come out of that pot if I let Heat cook at ease. He didn’t stand against it.

“I’ll bring you the flour, then”. And he left me with the remaining…cooks, let’s call them. They were looking at me, expectantly.

“So…” I started. “We can start by boiling the potatoes”. I suggested. They nodded and were going to put them directly in the pot. “We have to clean them first!”. Their lips mouthed an “o” in understanding and cleaned them. Now I was scared, I wonder what I had to eat on this ship. I just hoped they had also washed their hands before cooking.

Heat came back with the flour, and we started to make the dough. Then, we minced the meat, smashed the potatoes, added the necessary seasonings and, after frying the filling on a pan, we built the pies.

I will admit the scene was quite funny: a bunch of pirates dressed in black, leather and spikes, concentrated making pies in silence. It was just like when I cooked with my parent- Goddamn it, ______, stop thinking about the past, it’ll do you no good.

When he made enough pies for the whole crew, we put them inside the oven. Luckily, we finished some minutes before the crew entered the mess hall. But I wasn’t expecting to see Eustass and Killer entering through the door.

“Heat, I thought the captain normally didn’t eat here”. I whispered.

“Normally”. He simply stated, taking the pies out of the oven. Without gloves. I wasn’t an invulnerable monster like these guys seemed to be, so I put on some baking gloves (I was surprised they even had a pair) and helped to take out the meat pies.

“What is she doing here?” Killer’s voice almost made me throw the pies. I turned around in shock.

“She helped us with the food”. Heat responded as if everything was fine. Well, everything was fine, but Killer made it sound as if you had just committed the worst sin ever.

The blond just stared at me with crossed arms for a while. Was he going to move? I had some pies to take to the table. Before I could ask him to let me through, he rubbed my cheek with his hand. Not too forcefully as to hurt me, but he definitely hadn’t been gentle. I stepped back and looked at him with a face that said: “What the fuck are you doing?”.

“You had flour on your face”. And with that, he moved from the doorstep and went to sit next to Kid at the tables.

Oh, great. Thank God I didn’t ask him if I had something on my face. I blushed a little from embarrassment and continued to do my task. What an idiot…

I finished serving the pies and sat where Toba was. He greeted me with a smile. Sometimes I thought he didn’t fit with these bastards.

“So that’s why you asked for Heat before?” Chum said. I shrugged.

“Maybe”. I said and cut a piece of pie with meat of dubious origin. I didn’t want to blow my own trumpet, but this was way better than breakfast. Thank goodness my mother taught me how to cook, and I could practice the dishes with my grandfather.

“Wow, this is better than-!” Toba forced himself to shut up to change his sentence. “This is delicious!” Heat didn’t seem to notice. Or maybe he didn’t mind. It’s not like he could argue with it. From the other side of the mess hall, the captain’s voice was heard:

“WHO COOKED THIS?”

And goodbye to my hopes of survival. Didn’t he like the food? Oh, no, what if he was a vegetarian? No, that couldn’t be…

Killer pointed at my direction. Little snitch, I’m sure he was delighted by the idea of finally throwing me overboard. I’m sure he called to do the honours. In a few seconds, Eustass was in front of me. My time has come.

“From now on you’ll be on cooking duty with Heat”.

And he went back to sit and gulp down another meat pie. If I hadn’t been sitting, I would’ve fainted. Did he always have to scream grumpily to say things?

“Good one; he didn’t kill you. High five”. Heat lifted his palm in the air, and I did as told without energy. Chum started to laugh.

“Her blood ran cold, ha ha ha!” He almost fell from the chair again. Such a merry man, I thought sarcastically. Toba’s blood had also run cold, but for different reasons.

A rumble of thunder was heard.

**_A storm was approaching._ **

**__ **


	6. Tempest

Lightning lighted up the mess hall. Five seconds pass… Another thunder. The sound of rain falling on the water and the wood grows louder every second.

“Every man to their stations, now! I’m not risking if the storm grows stronger”. Eustass ordered. I didn’t know he could make wise decisions, what a surprise.

Everyone got up from their tables to head to the deck. Toba did the same, and I looked at him, waiting for instructions on what to do. A storm drill would have come in handy in these situations, but it was too late for that. He exited without even looking at me, too focused on following the captain’s order, so I just followed his steps. I didn’t want to be left there doing nothing.

The moment I crossed the door, I felt like a punch on my face. Wind, rain, cold. Black clouds covered the sky. It was morning, but it could’ve been mistaken for the night since there was no sign of light in the sky aside from the random bolt. I tied my hair in a ponytail, not wanting to have problems with the wind.

The waves were not very high, but I felt real terror. The ocean was a wolf’s mouth, everything was dyed in black. The ship rocked too harshly, and I thought we were done for. I searched for Toba with my gaze in case they needed help.

Fuck, no. I turned my head around just in time to see Toba falling overboard. With a horrified expression, he held onto the railing with both hands and tried to climb up, but the tilted position of the ship and the rain that was falling stronger now were not helping.

“Toba!” My scream was drowned in the din. I slid over the deck towards Toba, making sure not to slip, but it was impossible. I crashed with the railing, hurting my chest, and letting out an inaudible cry. But I didn’t lose time to recompose, and I grabbed Toba’s hand, trying to lift him up on a safe surface.

I was strong, but not enough. The ship kept tilting. At this pace, he was going to fall. A few steps to my left was a rope tied to the railing. The other end was free. Quickly, I pounced to get it, planning to lift Toba up with it.

The storm was brutal.

I tried to tie the rope to Toba’s arm, in vain. The ship was practically vertical, instead of horizontal. I was going to fall.

But Toba fell first.

“No!” I closed my eyes. Without a second thought, even though my legs were shaking, by inertia, I jumped to the water with the rope in my hand. With those three seconds before hitting the water, I thought: “What have I done?”.

I lifted my head through the water, breathing in. If I have ever said I was scared, I withdraw those words because this was definitely the scariest moment in my life. A brave black sea was different from a threatening pirate. Floating next to an immense ship was also intimidating, but I guess not as much as floating with no ship around to save you.

Toba wasn’t very far away. He was also trying not to drown, but with difficulty. It looked like he had hurt his arm. He threw an incredulous look at my directions, and if he hadn’t wanted to keep his breath, he probably would have shouted at me that what was my problem.

The ship started tilting again, now to the other side. Perfect, I could work with that. Now with both of my hands free, I tied the rope to my waist, so hard it was getting hard to breathe, and I was sure it was going to leave a mark. But I didn’t want the rope to untie in the middle of my plan.

I swam towards Toba. I grabbed him by the wounded arm and turned my back to him so he could grab onto my shoulders. He seemed to understand it quickly, and he did as told. Now, with more weight on me, it was getting harder to stay afloat. Incredibly harder. But I had my rope. I tugged the rope to get closer to the ship. I prayed that whoever did the noose knew what he was doing. Please…

I placed my feet on the wood of the ship and started to climb with the help of the rope. It was harder than I thought, but little by little, I could climb.

One step… Another step… Grab it tightly, don’t fall… Fuck, my hands burn… Hold on… Just another step…

The ship tilted to our side for a brief instant, and my heart got up to my mouth. We would have fallen… But it immediately continued tilting to its original position. I don’t know if the storm was ending or not; I felt fewer raindrops fall on my face, but my surroundings felt heavier and heavier. I just heard noise inside my head. I couldn’t take it anymore…

I didn’t dare to lift my head, so I just looked with my eyes. I was midway there, just half the way to get to the railing. I wasn’t going to make it. I was too weak, I don’t know why I didn’t ask for help. Please, climbing on a rope with a guy on your back during a storm? It was suicide. But I had always been like this; I always tried to be a hero even though I did not have the abilities to be one.

Weak. Useless. And now another person would die because of me, because I wasn’t strong enough to save them.

Before my muscles gave out and the sea gobbled us up, a metallic arm pulled the rope up to the ship. Toba and I fell on the deck. Being too sore and exhausted, I didn’t get up. I just wanted to breathe a little bit.

“She better not be dead, or…”. Eustass growled. If he could keep complaining as always, that meant the worst part of the storm was over.

I wanted to say that I was fine, but I didn’t have the strength to articulate a sound. A hand took my pulse on my wrist.

 **“She’s alive”.** Wire untied me from the rope on my waist, making it easier to breathe.

“What an idiot…”. Eustass grabbed me with his robotic arm and lifted me from the floor. He didn’t let my feet touch the ground. Instead, he kept me up to his height. “What the fuck were you thinking? Couldn’t you have drawn someone’s attention to help him?”.

I didn’t answer.

“Were you planning to kill yourself, too, so this journey would have been pointless?” He threw me to the floor. “The sea is no place for the weak, ______!”.

Only at that moment, I lifted my head to look up at Eustass in the eye. His amber eyes seemed to want to embed into mine.

He was right. There’s no place for the weak. I knew that very well. Images took over my head… images of the day I did not want to remember.

̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙

_The clock struck twelve in the dark streets of Imbir. The outskirts of town. My gang and I were running through the alleyways. We split up. Another gang that participated in the fights laid an ambush on us. They were mad because of the results of the last fight. They lost a big sum of money and decided to pay it with bullets. It wasn’t the first shooting in Imbir, but it wasn’t usual at all._

_Between the sound of my shoes hitting the pavement seeped some shots. Our leader told us to lose sight of them; we would meet up again behind the town’s dumpster. None of us knew this was the last time we would see each other again._

_I reached a crossroad of alleys. I stopped when I saw the corpse of one of my mates lied on the ground, bleeding, a bullet hole on his back and his dagger laying next to him. He tried to defend himself, unsuccessfully._

_“_ _No…”_

_One of the henchmen of the enemy gang showed up down an alley, lifting his gun._

_“_ _Son of a bitch…” I muttered through my teeth, fighting to not let my tears fall and blur my vision. He was going to pull the trigger when my leader showed up behind him, immobilizing him._

 _“_ _Run, ______!” He shouted. That bastard was trying to slip away from my leader’s lock. Without looking back, I grabbed my mate’s dagger. I wanted my revenge right now. I ran towards them, but another body prevented me from attacking, holding me by the torso._

 _“_ ______ _!” My leader screamed, worried. The guy that held me was too strong… It took me a few seconds, but I broke free. I stabbed him on the neck. I didn’t have time to process all the information._

_I ran towards where my leader fought with the henchman. The latter got away from him and lifted his arm. No, just a little bit more and I can save him. Just a second more…_

_My dagger embedded on his lower back a second later after he pulled the trigger._

_His body fell, and I fell with it, without letting go of the dagger._

_No sooner my hands started shaking than my whole body was trembling. When the bell tower struck two, I got up. A little walk around the alleys told me no one was left. Maybe the enemy gang had escaped, the remaining members at least. I walked towards the dumpster, lying to myself._

_“_ _When I get there, they’ll already be waiting for me”._

_I had been waiting there until I lost count of the bell strokes._

·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙

I felt the urge to puke. I realized I started to slightly shiver, and a tear rolled down my cheek. It was still raining, so no one would have been able to see.

“Kid, you’ll continue later. Toba hurt his arm”. Killer stated. The redhaired resigned. He shut the door with a thump when entering the ship.

Killer shot me one last look and followed Kid’s steps. Heat did the same, saying a few words to the blond:

“At least we know she’s not a devil fruit user. The remaining options are that she’s indeed a swindler or she’s telling the truth”.

Even at that moment, they kept doubting me. I guess they never trusted me, to begin with. I felt stupid. I had almost started to trust them. Toba got close.

“______… I’m really grateful. But what you did something very foolish”.

“I know”. I didn’t know if I was answering for this day’s idiocy, or the one I did that baleful day. “I told you to not get close to the railing”. I reprimanded him without looking at him.

Silence.

“I don’t understand why you care if I throw myself to the sea or not if you think I’m duping you”. I continued.

“I’m sure they do not think that”. I lifted an eyebrow, doubtfully. “Hey, it’s not you the one who got killed when you estimated how many days it would take to reach Fatamorgana. They have to believe you, even if it’s just a little bit if they killed the other guy instead of you. And… you were really telling the truth when you read my future. The captain was harsh because it was risky, but I could have died if it wasn’t for you. Give yourself some credit, would ya?”.

I sighed. Pure hazard. Toba probably fell because he had suggested himself so badly that it was going to happen.

“Let’s get inside. I’ll bring you a towel”. He said.

“No. You’re hurt, you must go to the infirmary. I’m fine”.

“Don’t be stubborn. You’re coming with me”. Toba’s voice indicated he was not in the mood to argue, so I got up against my own will. We walked towards the infirmary.

If another situation likes this or worse occurred… The same would happen. I was fed up. I didn’t want the same story to repeat itself. No more… I had to become stronger. I was not going to allow myself to be weak again.

»»———————⍟———————««

Kid let himself fall on the chair of his workshop. He rubbed his face with his hand, stressed out.

“We almost screw it up…” He controlled his voice to not scream.

“I thought you told her that if anyone you cared about died, she would have also wished to die?”.

“Yes!” He hit the desk with his fist, making some pencils and tools fall off it. “But” Killer interrupted him.

“But you realized it was more important to keep her alive, didn’t you?”. Kid growled. He was mad.

“We still don’t know if she’s telling the truth…”

“But you decided to believe her instead of Jack”

“Who?”

“The mapmaker”

“Ah…” Kid stretched his neck. “The little girl was more convincing than that pig”. He justified himself. Killer waited a few seconds before talking again.

“Toba told me”. Kid lifted his palm to stop him. “Toba, the one who’s in charge of looking after ______,”. Kid nodded and let him continue. “told me she read his future: he saw how he fell overboard during a storm”.

Kid opened his eyes. He looked to the wall, thinking.

“Are you saying she’s telling the truth?”. He asked.

“No”. Killer answered. “I’m just telling you what I’ve seen. Sometimes what we see is not the reality”.

Kid let his head fall backwards, growling upon hearing those words. He was starting with his philosophical bullshit again.

“Anyway, the day after tomorrow we’ll have reached the next island. We’ll see how it goes”.

Killer just nodded. After seeing ______ and Toba on the deck he thought the girl had thrown him overboard to fulfil her “prophecy”. But Toba would have said something if that had been the case. And she needn’t risk her life to save him after. It didn’t make sense.

“Oh, Toba mentioned one last thing”. Kid looked at Killer. “Her grandfather was the old man Bonaventura”. Kid responded slowly to this news.

“You’re shitting me…”


	7. Land ahoy: Magari

Forty-seven, forty-eight, forty-nine… Fifty. I let the barrel down. I didn’t know what it was filled with, but it was useful to use as a dumbbell. Since that disastrous event in the storm, I was obsessed with training. It didn’t surprise me when Toba entered the cellar without knocking.

“Training again?”. He said, entering as if it was his home. Well, technically, it was more of his home than mine. Damn it.

“Yeah”. I stretched my arms.

“I came to ask you if you wanted to practice sword fighting with us”.

“I like the idea, but I’ve never held a sword in my life”. I puckered my lips.

“I’ll teach ya, don’t worry”.

So here I was, at the bow of the ship, following Toba’s instructions while I was holding a cutlass.

“Are you sure this weapon is the best option?” I asked him.

“You’re used to fighting at a very short distance. But there’ll be enemies better than you at a short distance, and you’ll be done for. If you’re fighting at long distance, if things go wrong, I recommend you start running”. I rolled my eyes. As if that cheered me up. “Low centre of gravity, ___”. His aura was different when he took things seriously.

I did as told.

“Aim to the shoulder. Try”. I lifted my sword to his shoulder, slowly. Toba blocked my attack. “Good, your attack can be blocked. But you can also block theirs”. Without prior notice, he aimed to my shoulder. I was shocked, but I locked his sword with mine. “Not bad. Same thing, but aiming to the thighs, let’s try”. He patted himself on the leg to emphasize his words.

The metallic clashes of swords filled my ears. There were other groups of people fighting a few meters away. I wielded my sword from the top and Toba blocked the hit.

“Pay attention to this”. With a circular motion of his wrist and arm, he pushed my sword, averting it. “You may not have enough time to block the next attack and”. He brandished his sword, grazing my stomach. I nodded.

From the crow’s nest, Killer observed the fighting pink-hair.

“Let’s move on. Beware of your thrusts, you leave your arm without protection. Do it again”. I tried to hit him the same way I had done before. Toba grabbed my arm, stopping my attack and made the gesture to punch me, but without touching me. “Don’t forget you have a free hand. You and your enemy. Let’s start over”.

We kept clashing our swords until Killer’s voice shouted “Land” from the crow’s nest. We reached Magari. The reason my parents had died on their journey. Sometimes I thought what would’ve happened if they hadn’t gone, but I quickly dismissed the thought. The past couldn’t be changed.

The captain organized searching parties, in which I was not included. Although I remember that there was a town here, the island looked deserted. There were no houses to be seen, just nature, sand, more trees, a mast… A mast? I got close to the bow, and I made out what seemed to be the upper part of a ship behind the island. It didn’t move. Maybe it was wrecked?

Could it be… the ship with which my parents set sail? I looked around surreptitiously. No one seemed to notice that detail or didn’t want to alert the rest. Now I was happy Eustass hadn’t included me in any group. When all of them had gone, I could sneak away and…! Killer’s sight greeted me when I turned around.

“Hi”. I answered with a fake smile, a little bit too excited due to my previous thoughts. Great, I couldn’t look more suspicious if I tried.

“You’ll go with me”.

“What?” It slipped off my tongue, and I stopped smiling. It was too beautiful to be true. Of course, they were not going to let me be alone.

“Got a problem?” He sounded stern.

“No, none at all, sir”. I answered quickly, and I straightened up. I almost did a military salute, but he wouldn’t have liked the joke, so I dismissed the thought.

“Good”. He threw a jingling small pouch at me. “Your payment for winning the first round with Nat. On behalf of the captain”. I grabbed it on the fly. Oh, not bad. Although I didn’t need to buy anything and all my possessions were in my bag, so I didn’t lack money. I accepted it nonetheless.

Resigned, when we anchored at the port, I got down next to Killer. Eustass was close by.

“Any danger in this island?”. Eustass asked out loud, but I knew he was asking me. Sure, ask the “oracle”.

“There’s no particular danger. This island is inhabited”. I said. I was used to saying most things confidently, even though I didn’t know if the town was still here.

“Is she sure? I didn’t see any town in the distance…”. A sailor whispered, distrustful. What an asshole.

“I am sure”. I turned around, showing them I was not intimidated. “There’s a village behind that hill”. I pointed to the grove. Eustass seemed pleased and continued to walk.

And, in effect, there was a small village. I remembered correctly since my parents were planning to stock up on supplies here before coming back home. Some of the groups went inside the forest, and other groups went to get provisions and other materials for the ship. I was left alone with Killer.

“I need to check if there’s a blacksmith’s in this town”. He said and started to walk. I followed him. His scythes seemed fine, though.

“Do you need to repair them?”. I asked, trying to avoid an uncomfortable silence.

“Yes”.

…Goodbye conversations. We were in silence, walking through some pedlars selling second-hand stuff. Porcelain dolls, clothes, books… One of them caught my attention. It was a guide to speak sign language. I immediately thought of Wire. It would be a nice start to get on his good side. But I didn’t want Killer to see me buying it…

I left the pouch with the money next to the seller’s cloth and took the book, giving him a smile and continued my way. The owner of the pedlar opened the pouch and looked surprised. I’m sure that book didn’t cost as much as I had just given him, but I didn’t want to pay less than needed. I was a swindler, but a swindler with morals. I was not going to steal if it wasn’t necessary.

With the book under my arm, I realized I had nowhere to hide it. I cursed myself mentally. All of this secrecy for nothing.

“What’s that?”. Killer said without looking at me. How did he know I had something? He hadn’t turned around!

“Uhm… a book”. I answered, tensing my shoulders. Killer didn’t answer. He entered a weapon shop, and I was also going to enter until I thought: “Wait a minute, what if I escape now that he’s busy?”. My heart started to beat faster at the thought. There were two main possibilities: he ignored me and continued with his business, or he ran behind me and slit my throat right there. I wanted to go to that ship so bad… I started running. We were in the part of the town most far from the Victoria Punk, so it wouldn’t take long to reach the opposite side of the island, where I saw the mast.

When I started to run on sand, I started to feel tired, but I was almost there. Yes, that was the debris of a ship adrift. There was no flag. I looked behind me. No one seemed to follow me. I walked through the rubble. Everything seemed empty on the outside. But there was a jammed door. Pushing did nothing, so I walked back and darted to the door, charging at it.

“Ah!” The door fell down completely, and I fell, too. The wood was rotten. I got up and almost screamed when I saw two skeletons in the room. I turned my gaze. Calm down, ______, calm down… There’s no way of knowing if those are your parents, his bodies could be lost in the see, it could be anyone… I looked again…

No, even though the clothes were worn off by time, it wasn’t the clothes they used. I breathed in and continued to look around the room. There was a medium-sized chest in the corner of the room. I approached it. It was closed, and I didn’t have the key, but some kicks were enough to open it.

I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was a devil fruit. Then, this had to be my parents’ ship. They found the fruit. But when they wanted to embark again, they must have got caught in a storm that drifted them to the shore… I took the fruit in my hands. It looked like some kind of white plump with red swirls on its peel.

And it dawned. It dawned on me that with this fruit I could become stronger. I didn’t know what was going to happen if I ate it, but I bit into it anyways. Ew, it tasted horrible. I didn’t want to keep eating. The blond didn’t appear running yet, so that was a good sign. I should return. If I was lucky maybe he didn’t notice I disappeared… Ha, very funny.

I didn’t feel anything different in me. Which kind of fruit would it be? I followed back my steps. Entering the city, I approached the shop trying to not make noise, and I peeked into the shop. Killer was still inside, waiting for his weapons to be fixed. He turned his head towards the door, and I straightened up.

“I-I’m sorry, I got lost!” I lied.

“You got lost in a very specific direction. I thought you decided to escape and wouldn’t return”.

“N-no, I just… needed to check something”. I answered.

“Good, because I would’ve needed to wait until my scythes were ready to behead you if you had planned to escape”.

I swallowed. Was he for real? He was for real.

“There’s still time until the scythes are ready. You can wait here with me”. Which translated, meant “Don’t get separated from me again or you’re dead”.

I nodded, entered the door, and sat next to him. I decided to open the book and start reading. Better do something productive, at least. Half an hour later, Killer spoke.

“Where did you go?” He asked. I lifted my gaze from the book. After this, I knew that avoiding the question was not a good option.

“Uhm… I saw a wrecked ship behind the island”.

“What did you have to check there?”

“…If it was the ship where my parents died”. Killer waited a few seconds before speaking again.

“Was it?”. I nodded. The owner of the workshop came with Killer’s scythes. He got up, placed a hand on my head and kindly ruffled my hair. He then took his weapons as if nothing had happened. I didn’t know that behind that assassin’s façade was a nip of sympathy.

We exited the shop, and I was thinking about how to confess that I had found and eaten a devil fruit. I didn’t plan to tell him, but that gesture gave me hope. Moreover, if somebody else fell on the water, I couldn’t throw myself after them. A precaution for me and a relief for them.

“I have something to tell you”. I put a strand of hair behind my ear. “Among the rubble of the ship I found a devil fruit”. Killer turned his head to look at me. “I ate it”. I half-whispered. Done, confessed.

“Do you know which fruit it was?” I shook my head to his question. He sighed. “Kid has an encyclopedia about devil fruits. You can ask him later to know which one it was”.

“T-thanks”. Okay, it had been easier than I thought. Now, I hope it is as simple with the redhead.

»»——————————⍟———————————««

Every member of the crew was back, storing the provisions in the ship. Killer pushed me in the back, and I almost crashed with Eustass’ back. The captain turned around with a frown. He didn’t look happy. Perfect timing.

“I ate a devil fruit”. His face was priceless.

“What? Right now?”

“Yeah… Uhm, Killer said you had an encyclopedia for…” Kid interrupted me.

“Yeah, yeah”. He shooed me with his hand as if I was a fly. “Come to my cabin after dinner. Not in the mood now”. Will he be in a good one later, though? I nodded and got away from him. Toba came with Wire by his side.

“___, are you crazy, talking to the captain when he’s mad?” He jested.

“Your beloved second on board practically threw me against him”. Toba laughed. I remembered I had been studying sign language and wanted to test my skills.

 **“Why is he mad?”,** I asked.

Wire smile, surprised **. “You don’t want to know”.**

“Why not?” I looked at both of them, smiling.

“Trust him, sometimes ignorance is bliss. You’ll thank me”.

“Come on”. I laughed. Walking on the deck, Heat approached. I had to go with him to prepare dinner.

“Hey, guys, have you heard that an old grandma has tried to flirt with the captain in the brothel?”

It was so unexpected I started to laugh, holding my stomach.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry”. But I kept giggling. “Is that why he’s so grumpy?”. I wiped off a tear. I felt a dark aura behind me.

“So, you think it’s funny?”. The captain’s voice rose, muffling my last giggles. “Heat, you cook by yourself today. Someone needs to learn the lesson”.

I crossed myself. I lasted too long on this ship. Now was the time, goodbye world. Eustass grabbed me by the collar of my clothes and dragged me to his cabin.

He pushed me inside, making my back crash against a bookshelf. I wanted to get away from the pain the books caused, but Eustass’ body imprisoned me. His flesh arm was pinning me, situated between my head and the personal space I really needed right now.

“Today’s been a shitty day, and the last thing you want is to make me angrier, trust me, sweetheart”. He muttered through his teeth, breathing onto my face like a beast. “Perhaps you want to offer yourself to make it better?” He said suggestively. I shook my head so quickly I thought I was going to dislocate my neck. “Don’t play with fire then”. He forcefully pushed a thick book against my chest, making me a book sandwich.

“Search for the image of the fruit you chomped”. He ordered, and he sat down, looking at me with a bored expression.

I opened the book and quickly leafed through it, in case he decided to change up his mind and use me as an anti-stress toy. I was so nervous I didn’t even focus on some of the images and had to turn back again. In a few long minutes, I found a very similar picture. A small oval fruit with red swirls on its white skin.

“ _Mirage Mirage no mi…?”_ I whispered and Kid arched an eyebrow.

“A _paramecia_ …”. He said for himself. I kept reading.

“This fruit allows the user to create illusions visible for only those who the user decides. Remember that they’re only illusions; they cannot harm the enemy directly”.

“Not bad. It would be a big advantage to distract the enemy…”. He brushed his chin. “Maybe you’ll stop being so useless”. He mocked. Really, I didn’t understand why they had me as a tourist guide and a cook (part-time lifeguard) if they considered me so unnecessary. Arrogant assholes. They’ll see how useful I can be. “But you’ll have to train your abilities, I don’t want dead weight on my ship. And don’t you dare use it against us, or you’re going headfirst into the water”. He stretched on his seat. “Try to do something”.

I nodded. But I had no idea how this worked. Illusions, huh? This is just what I would have needed back in Imbir, it looked made for me. Or for swindlers, of course. I opened my hand and concentrated to imagine something in it. Something simple. I almost fall backwards when a flower sprouted on my palm. It didn’t look fake. I touched it with a finger, but it went through, and the image smudged as if it were watercolour. The colours returned to the image in a few seconds. Kid hanged his head and grabbed it with his hands.

“A fucking flower, she must be fucking kidding me…”. Oops, too corny for him. “At least you know how to use it. Now try something more useful on a fucking battleground”. He got up from his chair. “If I was an enemy,” I mentally laughed. As if he didn’t act as my enemy every day. “and I wanted to attack you, how would you distract him?”.

I looked at him and tried to imagine an armed pirate between us. But it was way harder to create such a big and complicated illusion. Its form changed slightly and didn’t seem human enough.

“It’s not a bad start… At least he would lose his time taking care of the mirage first”. While Eustass was talking, I tried to control the mirage’s movements. It looked like a crappy puppet. What had I just created? Someone knocked on the door, and Killer entered without waiting for an answer. In two shakes of a lamb’s tail, he lunged to the mirage with his scythes, making it disappear. This time it didn’t merge back into its original form, due to the fright the blond gave me.

“It was an illusion. It’s the girl’s power”. Kid smiled. Killer relaxed and looked at me. “Since it looks like she’s brave enough to laugh at this ship’s captain, why don’t you train her, Killer? She’ll improve quicker, then”. There was his revenge. Resentful bitch.

“We’ll start tomorrow morning”. He informed. I could only agree to this, even though I didn’t want. “I came here to tell you something, Kid”. The redhead nodded and made a gesture with his hand to make me go out. I didn’t want to stay there any longer, anyways.

I breathed the clean air once I set a foot outside. I didn’t want tomorrow to come… I felt like every day I was risking my life, but for some macabre game of the gods, I was still alive to bear this suffering. I went to the kitchen, where Heat had almost finished with the dinner preparations.

“You still alive?”. Heat asked as if he had seen a ghost. Another guy from the kitchen approached us, lifting up his fingers.

“How many fingers do you see? Are you seeing double? Contusions?”

“Just my back’s in pain, thank you for worrying”. I helped to take out the cutlery. I ignored the dirty comments that arose from my previous statement.

“What happened?” Heat asked without paying attention to the group saying obscenities.

“Killer told me to ask your captain for his devil fruit encyclopedia because… well, I ate one”. I admitted.

“But you could swim and save Toba”. He refuted.

“I found it today”. I giggled. Surprise.

“And what can you do now?” He asked curiously. I looked at the group which was still joking in a vulgar manner. I created the illusion of a rat running towards them. The surprised screams and stomps on the floor soon appeared while they tried to catch it. Among the chaos, though, it soon disappeared.

“I can create mirages”. I smiled, trying to hold in my laughter. Heat was amused by this and wiggled his eyebrows. “But Eustass decided Killer’s going to train me”. I pouted, and the bluehead laughed.

“You’ll improve faster than with Toba and the rest of low ranks.

“Precisely, I am one of the low ranks. Killer surpasses the rank and stands a step higher. Why? Because he can”. I exasperatedly joked. “I’m dead”.

“You’ll have to get used to it. You’ll be staying here a lot of time”. I looked at him. What did he mean? Yes, there were still several weeks left until the end of the journey, but it seemed weird. Maybe I was mulling too much about it.

The rest of the day passed without any problems, and now I was laying on my hammock, covered up with the blanket. I don’t remember when I fell into Morpheus’ arms.


	8. Waking up from the dream

__

_Two silhouettes were in front of me. I only saw their backs. I didn’t know how, but I was certain they were my parents. I called for them:_

_“Mom? Dad?” I took a few steps forward, but I felt weird. It seemed as if I was floating, I couldn’t feel my feet. When I was about to touch my dad’s shoulder, the silhouettes fell as if I had activated the gravity that seemed to lack, revealing a pile of bones and two skulls between rags. I heard a voice. “______”._

_I turned around and saw my grandfather. He smiled at me._

_“I shouldn’t have gotten those ideas stuck in your head,”. He shook his head, smiling. “look at what I’ve done… I’m a mess”. He laughed._

_“Grandpa? I don’t understand…”_

_“Forgive me, ______. Forgive me for lying to you.”_

I woke up startled, hyperventilating. I laid down again, closing my eyes in relief. It had been a dream. I brought my hands to my face. My solace didn’t last long since I got scared by Killer’s mask when I opened my eyes and peeped through my fingers.

“Ah!” I fell from the hammock, trying to get away. “For the love of God…” I brought one hand to my heart. I noticed something was missing: my locket. I palpated my torso, the floor and, finally, the hammock. Where was it? I looked at Killer. Oh, great, he had it.

“Is this your grandfather?” He looked at the picture.

“Yeah, how do you know?” I got up from the floor and brushed my hair with my fingers a bit.

“Toba told me”. He closed the locket and gave it back. Fucking blabbermouth. Mental note: watch out with what you tell Toba. “Time for training”.

I gulped.

The next thing I knew is that I was standing on a one-metre barrel on one foot. My mission was not to fall while I practised creating illusions.

“Focus”. Killer insisted. To aggravate it more, he was hitting me with a broomstick. “Your mirages fade away if you’re not concentrated enough. So, let’s practice that”. He hit me on the leg. Yeah, sure. He might be right on a 90%... on the other 10%, he just wanted to see me suffer.

I tried to imagine an armed pirate in front of me once again. I thought that the facial features were too useless and complicated to maintain, especially if I wasn’t trying to imagine a known person, so I just created him with a simple white mask.

“If it’s still, there’s no problem. Make it move”. Followed by another hit on my back that almost made me lose my balance, and I had to move my arms like a bird not to fall. I did as told and controlled my puppet’s movements, who was now doing some sword tricks Toba taught me. Maybe it was a bit unnatural, but it was better than my previous try.

“Don’t lose your focus”. Right when I thought he only opened his mouth to say negative things, he continued. “I think that’s enough with one. But can you create another one?”. I sighed and made a copy of it. I was not going to waste time, giving them different characteristics. It would be my army of clones, I guess.

“Like that?” I asked. Both mirages were still.

“Yes. The next thing will be harder. They have to execute different actions”. Oh, come one. He hit me again, this time harder, in my stomach, and I almost cursed. But as always, I controlled myself. So, imagine my surprise when both clones said “Asshole!” at the same time.

Absolute silence. Killer looked at me. I looked at him, too. Now, how was I going to justify this…?

“I…I didn’t mean to” I whispered. I was seeing that stick stuck in my skull and I didn’t like it one bit. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the clones were gone due to my nervousness. Killer sighed and returned his look to the front.

“At least you have discovered you can create auditory illusions, too. We’ll explore that area later”. He hit me with the same force as before or more, clearly pissed, and I crouched a bit, lowering my head to ease the pain. “Head up,”. With the stick’s end on my chin, he lifted my head. Then, another hit on my back “straight back”.

“Yes, sir…” I whispered and created the mirages again. I tried that each did his thing, but it was too hard to focus on both movements at the same time and that they worked correctly, no matter how hard he hit me.

“It’s not worth it”. You realized it after the 23rd hit? “Let’s try another thing”.

The rest of the day I spent it trying to create shields out of nowhere, lifting columns of whatever material the floor was made of, creating the illusion that I had weapons in my hand (especially guns) and acting as if I shot. Even though the bullets were not real and didn’t damage anything, it wasn’t pleasant. It reminded me of that day. I’d try not to use that technique, if possible.

“Enough for today”. Killer announced. Hearing those words was like entering Heaven: my legs hurt from standing like a flamingo all morning and my body ached due to that fucking broomstick.

“Finally…” I exhaled, and I was going to get down from the barrel, but I didn’t notice that my leg had gone numb until I tried to place it on the floor and I lost my balance. I closed my eyes, waiting for the fall and my face crushed against the floor, ready to add it to my daily pain list. But surprisingly, Killer’s arms caught me and prevented the collision. I opened one eye to see that (for better or worse) I was still alive.

Killer’s mask was so close I wondered if I could see through its holes. Now that I think about it, why didn’t he take off his mask? I had assumed it was just his aesthetic, but who knows. When I took notice of how uncomfortable the situation had become, I tried to get off his arms without falling (again). I dusted off my clothes as if I had fallen on sand, cleared my throat and took the barrel and the stick to take them back to their places. The cellar and the cleaning room, respectively.

“Uh, thanks”. I clumsily said and marched on. When I left the barrel down there, I stopped to think. This power could be dangerous. It couldn’t directly harm you, agreed. But it was something it made you doubt about what was real and what not… I felt a shiver down my spine. I could literally cause a mutiny on the ship. Treason. Make them believe their captain planned to use his crew as scapegoats and get the treasure for himself or something like that. I could cause distrust among the crew themselves. And then…

I stopped in the middle of the corridor that led to the cleaning room. I looked around. No one there. I thought I had heard something… I hope it is not Killer with his training techniques. I kept walking, now more focused on my surroundings.

… … …

I just heard the sound of my steps hitting the wood. It must have been a random noise. I opened the door and left the stick next to the cleaning paraphernalia and other sundry things. I covered my nose. It reeked of bleach inside here. The door closed behind me.

I turned around, surprised it was not Killer practising his ninja abilities. To tell the truth, I didn’t know who the fuck this guy was. Maybe he was a ninja.

“Need something?” I asked, confused.

“Don’t act as if you don’t know already… You’re his living image”. He spat those words venomously, but I didn’t comprehend why.

“Who are you talking about”. I frowned.

“About that selfish old man… The rumour is true, isn’t it? You’re his niece? Bonaventura’s nice?” I opened my eyes upon hearing this.

“Where do you know my grandpa from?” I half-closed my eyes.

“Didn’t he tell you?”. He snorted with disdain. “That bastard even lied to his family, my, my”. He smirked, and his comment made my blood boil.

“Don’t speak shit about him. What reasons do you have?” I questioned, tensing my body.

“What reasons?” He wanted to laugh but didn’t have the strength to do so. “That bastard is the reason they all died. He didn’t tell you, right? It’s not the first time I travel to Fatamorgana.

“That’s not possible… My grandpa said no one ever escaped alive”

“My grandpa said, my grandpa said…” He mocked me. “Your grandpa told us many things, too. But he didn’t mention it was such a dangerous journey. He decided to take his crew to their death because of his selfishness”.

My head started to hurt. I didn’t understand anything.

“Crew? My grandpa was not a pirate”. My lips trembled slightly.

“He never told you he was a pirate. But he was. Just he and I managed to get away alive from that hell. Everyone else? Dead. If they weren’t dead already, they were going to soon.

“And why is he dead and you’re not? What are you doing on this ship?”. I couldn’t believe this man.

“We both got cast away and were lucky enough to see a ship passing by. This ship”. I opened my eyes. “It was seven years ago, but I still remember…” He kept silence for a while and changed the subject.

“Your grandfather went back to Imbir, isn’t that right? I decided to stay on this ship, continuing my life as a pirate. Didn’t he tell you why he was sick?”

“H-he was old… It was only normal he would feel bad”. I hesitated. The man sneered.

“Ha! You know that’s not true. He never told you… He never told you he had been cursed on the island with his”. He rolled up his sleeve, showing a scar that looked like thorns covering his arm. I was shocked. I remembered my grandpa told me about it, but he didn’t tell me this.

“That doesn’t explain why he died because of the curse, and you didn’t’…” My patience was running out.

“The bastard hid the antidote on his clothes. I didn’t trust him, so I had been keeping an eye out. And when that despicable son of a bitch wanted to keep the antidote just for himself and drink it, I jumped onto him to take it instead”. He said, proud of himself. “And here I am”. He extended his arms, making sure I could see that he was, indeed, alive. His eyes seemed lost in a crazy frenzy.

“My grandfather wouldn’t do that… He was a good man”. I took a step back without realizing it.

“A good man would lie to his crew to follow a stupid dream?” His voice got louder.

“Liar! He was not greedy!” I shouted.

“His greed is what condemned us all!” He spat in rage. “All for his stupid desire to bring the dead back to life! For that stupid talisman!”.

“I don’t believe you…” My voice was barely audible. Because at that moment, I had a completed a puzzle long lost in my mind, and with that final piece, I understood his obsession for the occultism, and especially with grandma, even though she had already died. He never told me, but his gaze lingered on her pictures too long or kept staring at his black magic books on his nightstand. But I didn’t want to believe it. It couldn’t be true.

“Believe it! His wife’s death affected him so much he stopped being himself. But we cannot do anything against death! And that stupid captain also wants to get his hands on that bloody talisman… The dead should remain dead! And you are helping him… You’re doing the same as him…” He lowered his voice’s volume. “Of course, you both share the same blood after all… The same thirst for lies corrupts you,”. He started to shake his head, smiling like a maniac. “but I won’t allow that. I won’t let you take us to the same fate of seven years ago!”.

He lunged at me with a crazy scream.

I didn’t have time to react.

His hand choked my neck. So hard it was hard to breathe from the very beginning. His thumbs seemed to want to stab my jugular. I wanted to swallow, but I couldn’t. I coughed. Maybe it was because the oxygen didn’t reach my head, but I thought he was right. I had also been lying to this whole ship from the start. I wondered if I wasn’t taking all these men to their graves.

When the need for oxygen was unbearable, it dawned on me. My body couldn’t do anything, but my mind could.

“It’s been so long…” My grandfather’s voice sounded behind the man who was trying to kill me. I knew my illusion had been successful when he let go of me and turned around, meeting the eyes of my grandpa’s image sitting on one of the barrels.

“You…” He started to say, sceptically. “It can’t be. It can’t be! You’re dead!”. He charged to the mirage. Right at that moment, I heard Heat’s voice behind the door.

“What the fuck is this ruckus?” He opened the door to find his mate punching the air like a madman and I, almost on the floor with blue marks on my neck. I don’t know how, but he seemed to understand what was happening (at least part of it), and he lifted me up. “I’ll take care of this, ______. Wait for me outside”.

Without answering, and still feeling the pressure of his hand on my neck, I exited the room and took a few steps more to get away from there. Killer was also coming through the corridor. He saw the wounds on my neck, and it looked like he sped up, but it must have been my imagination.

“What happened?” He asked as if he was bothered. I answered with another question.

“Why did nobody tell me that they knew my grandfather?” Killer looked towards the room. He also seemed to understand what had happened, as if they had feared this would happen. They knew this would happen. But they still didn’t tell me.

I almost laughed. Life consisted of lying and hiding the truth. Even to yourself. A labyrinth of hoaxes. Lies only caused more lies. I pondered on what would have been the first lie ever told. The snake…?

No, I don’t think so. It must have been before.

I concluded that the first lie was uttered by God, promising humans a paradise. But he committed a mistake, and that is that while consciousness exists, there’ll be no paradise.

When all is said and done, no one cares about living a fallacy if they live. And at some point, we stop questioning reality.

Was I now living a lie? Or did that lie become my reality? Then… Was I going to forsake my cosy reality for the bitter truth?

My only solace was that the decision was in my hands.

I took the locket, opened it and observed the photography. I felt I didn’t know the man on the picture. But I got scared after seeing I also didn’t recognize the girl smiling in it.

I closed the locket.

I remembered one of the conversations in the mess hall with Toba and the rest.

_“My dream is to be part of the King of the Pirate’s crew!” Toba shouted with a fist in the air. I smiled._

_“My dream was to live without much problem and eat what I wanted, but I won’t lie, I’m really stoked about helping the captain find the One Piece, too”. Chum also answered._

_“I also want to get to the One Piece”. Heat answered without paying much attention to our talk. Wire nodded._

_“The One Piece?” I laughed a bit. “Well, with such a stubborn captain that always gets what he wants, it shouldn’t be a difficult task”. The boys looked proud._

_“What’s your dream, ___?” Toba asked me excitedly._

_“My dream…” I lifted my head. “The truth is I was also thinking about going to Fatamorgana and finding the treasure. My grandfather wished to find it, he said it was beautiful… So, I would like to show it to him”. I caressed my locket without noticing._

****_“But that’s not your dream”,_ ** ** _Wire said._

_“What?” I blinked a few times._

_“He means you’re not living for yourself. You’re living for a dream that’s not yours”. Heat concluded._

All this time, I had been living with the goal of a deceased person I never really knew. But his crew didn’t fully know him either. I saw his generous and kind side; they saw his selfish and treacherous side. No one knew the truth.

In this world, the good ones are not so good, and the bad ones are not so evil. I had experienced that firsthand.

I felt as if I had woken up from a dream when I started to walk towards the exit, ignoring Heat’s order. I needed to see the captain.

I walked up the stairs, turned around the corner… I tried to open the door to his cabin, but it was closed. He wasn’t there. I kept searching for him.

More steps… I opened the mess hall’s door with determination. There he was, sat on the table. I entered with steady steps towards his direction, no hesitation, looking at him drop dead in the eye. I heard more steps behind me and saw Killer and Heat out of the corner of my eye.

I stopped in front of the captain’s table and put my hands on it. We were face to face.

“I want to join your crew”.


	9. Tarot Night

**Graphic and violent description.**

“I want to join your crew”.

The sound of a random fork against the plate was the last thing to be heard. It seemed the ambience fell down with my words.

I realized they were right. I hadn’t been living for me. I didn’t have anything to live for. I had lost everything: my parents, my grandfather, my friends…

I remembered how it had been to live in the Victoria Punk these last days. A lot of situations reminded me of my past, and even though I tried to shove that thought away, I asked myself if I could start again… A new life. I didn’t want to lose this, too. Not when I felt I had something for what to fight again, not when I felt I belonged to somewhere.

Eustass’ silence made me nervous. He looked as if he didn’t believe me, as if I was scheming something. His gaze turned to Killer. I saw Heat smiling. Eustass looked at me again and smiled as if he had been waiting for that moment.

“Good, because I also want you to join my crew”. He grabbed my hand to shake it like a businessman. A businessman that almost crushed my hand, but I couldn’t focus on the pain.

He wanted me to join? Was that a yes? I don’t know from where came the excitement and joy that rose from my stomach up to my cheeks, where there were only rage and sorrow before. I felt a blush creeping on my cheeks and my eyes watering.

“Oh, no, don’t make this cheesy”. Kid sensed what was going to happen, and I tried to not let the tears fall. Toba was in the background screaming at everyone who crossed his path “I told you!”.

It was an impossible mission; soon, the tears started to fall. I brought an arm to my face to hide them. In response, Eustass threw a bunch of napkins at my face to dry my tears. I guess that was the kindest act I was going to get from him.

Killer and Heat approached the situation that looked out of a cheap rom-com. Heat laid his hand on my shoulder and brought me to sit with Wire, Chum and Toba. Killer said something to the captain and exited the mess hall.

»»———————⍟————————««

Killer brought Kid to the cleaning room, where the man that had tried to kill ______ laid on the floor, trying to breathe without choking with the blood that came out of his nose flooding his cavities. Some teeth were scattered around the floor, and his left leg was bent unnaturally. The end of his femur was protruding from his skin.

“This treacherous rat is the one that tried to kill her?” Eustass got close to his body, barely alive, and step with force on his knee, getting a piercing screech in return from the man. Against all odds, he tried to say some words:

_“Y…You’ll…d…die…”_

“You said something?” He asked rhetorically and went to grab a near broomstick.

“Not that one, Kid, I use it for ______'s training”. Killer mentioned nonchalantly as he had just told him his shopping list. Kid rolled his eyes, let the broomstick in its place and grabbed the dagger from his belt.

 _“Da…Danger… Fata…morgana…_ ” He forced himself to spit out those words, before almost vomiting all the blood that he had swallowed.

“I thought you didn’t remember anything from that journey. Or that’s what you told us… Oh, I see. You didn’t want to return to that island, is that right?” Kid growled and pierced his eye with his dagger without doubting as if this wasn’t the first time, he did it. “There’s no place for cowards in my ship”. He twisted the blade, deforming his eye at the same time the body was squirming beneath him, but unable to emit any sound without choking with his own blood again.

When Kid took out the dagger, his body had stopped moving already. It was inert.

“Call someone to clean this mess”. He told Killer while he cleaned the blade with a rag that was hanging from a ladder.

»»———————⍟————————««

“___ has finally joined, guys!”

“SHUT UP ALREADY, TOBA!” Someone answered from a few tables afar. Toba just laughed.

“Thank you for the warm welcoming”. I joked, having calmed down.

 **“So, how have you decided to become a pirate?”** Wire asked.

“Well… “. I was going to answer, but I got up from the table, remembering something. “No, why did _you_ hide the fact that my grandpa was a pirate and that you met him 7 years ago?” I said, somewhat mad, although it didn’t matter as much as before. But I wanted to know their reasons.

“Uh…” Heat started, looking around, not knowing what to say.

“It didn’t look like you knew about it, so we thought the best was to wait. We didn’t know how you were _gonna_ react. The captain wanted to tell you at some point, _tho_ ”. Chum said.

“But that rat got ahead of us”. Heat added, and I swallowed, trying not to think about the marks that now ornamented my neck.

“Are you mad?” Toba asked, wearily.

“…No. Not anymore”. I sighed. The captain and the second on board entered the mess hall.

“You got rid of him?” Heat asked Killer, who nodded and made a gesture with his hand to some low-rank crew members.

“Cleaning room. Now”. He ordered, and the poor souls immediately ran out of the room.

I thought I was going to get away from answering the previous question, but Wire repeated:

**“And? Why did you want to join?”.**

I bit my lower lip, hurting myself by mistake.

“Being here is not…that bad, I guess”. I admitted.

“I knew you didn’t hate us as much as you made us believe”. Toba said.

“Shut up”. I clicked my tongue. Toba ignored me.

“Hey, now that you’re officially part of the crew, how about moving in with us?”

“Pardon?” I asked, confused, and letting out a subtle laugh.

“Are you dumb?” Chum smacked Toba on the back of his neck. “She’s not going to want to be in a room full of four men, dumbass”.

“The cellar is not that bad, thanks for the offer”. I answered, understanding what Toba was talking about, thanks to the doctor’s comment.

“If she changes her mind, I wouldn’t mind”. Heat said with a mocking tone, and Wire pushed him a bit, laughing.

“You’re a bunch of pigs”. Chum shook his head. Killer loomed over Toba from behind.

“______ stays where she is”. He said, having the final word, crushing Toba’s shoulders with his hands.

“I-I’m sorry, Killer”. He smiled weakly. The blond walked away.

“I HAVE ANOTHER IDEA”. Toba suggested. “LET’S THROW A PARTY!” Chum facepalmed with a comedic sound.

“Party?” A voice from another table asked. “Today? Will there be booze?”

In two shakes of a lamb’s tail, everyone was organizing a party for tonight. After the captain gave the go-ahead, of course. Not long after, the preparations started.

“______,” Chum threw the infirmary keys at me. “why don’t you get a bath and relax a bit, meanwhile? You can use the infirmary’s bathroom. You must be tired of all of this” He said with a sympathetic look. Chum, apart from worrying about the crew’s physical health, he also was interested in taking care of their mental health every time he could. I gladly accepted his offer.

I walked down the cellar, grabbed a clothing change from my bag (I was so glad I had packed all my stuff that day, even though they were few) and headed for the infirmary. I inserted the key in the lock. _Click_. Open. I closed the door behind me and entered the bathroom.

It was almost as white as the infirmary. In the room’s corner was a bathtub that looked like a mini pool, but it wasn’t deep. From the wall hung the showerhead. I undressed and went to place my clothes in a laundry basket, but I stopped in my tracks.

I better clean my own clothes. I turned on the water and got inside the tub. I thanked the warm water that took my fatigue down the drain with it. I stayed a few minutes like that, relaxing, before washing my hair and my body.

Three knocks on the door almost gave me a heart attack, and I crouched a bit until the water reached my chin. I didn’t answer, wondering who the hell was at the door and how had he entered if I had locked the infirmary’s door. I crouched a bit more when I remembered I hadn’t locked the bathroom’s door.

“It’s me, Killer”. I didn’t know if I should be relieved or not. “Chum forgot to tell you there weren’t any towels. I brought you one”.

“Oh, thanks”. I awkwardly answered. “The door is open”.

The doorknob turned, and the door opened. I just saw a towel flying through it and the door closing again before the towel touched the floor. I was glad at the fact that the tub was not in front of the door. He couldn’t have seen anything.

“Thanks”. I said once more.

“No problem”. His words were followed by a sound of footsteps, key sounds, and the infirmary door closing. Next time, I would grab a towel.

I hid my face inside my wool sweater like a turtle. The weather had become colder, the temperature had suddenly gone down. Thank goodness I had clothes meant for such weather, especially at night. I also had my bag next to me, since the crew had convinced me to do a tarot session later in the night.

Wire placed a glass in front of me.

**“For you”.**

It was nice we could communicate in sign language since one could not hear anything with all the noise: men singing, playing instruments, and drinking. It was hard to even hear your own thoughts.

 **“Thanks”,** I answered.

I had never drunk alcohol, except for a few small sips from my grandfather’s drink to satiate my curiosity, but I didn’t understand what the big deal about it was. It burned your throat and tasted horrible. I sipped a bit, just to try.

I coughed a little. I don’t know why I was expecting something different, this tasted horrible, too. I put the glass on the table.

“You’re not drinking?” Toba asked. I shook my head.

“I’m not a big fan of how it tastes”. I tried to make myself heard among the noise.

“ _Lemme_ get you something better”. He got up and came with Heat (I don’t know where he came from), carrying a few colourful bottles.

Heat poured a bit from an angular and pink bottle in a glass that then offered me. I sipped it and quickly turned my head away from the glass. Even the smell burnt. I felt it in my lungs. What kind of drinks did they have?

 **“Too strong, idiot”.** Wire said.

Now it was Toba’s turn, who poured a yellow liquid in a glass. I sighed and sipped it, not very enthusiastically. Okay, it was better than the last one, but that wasn’t something difficult to achieve. I wouldn’t drink more. I put the glass back and shook my head.

 **“You have no idea”** , Wire mocked them.

“You also offered her a shitty liquor!” Toba defended himself by attacking him.

“It’s not necessary to drink alcohol at a party, anyways”. I tried to calm them down. They looked at me like I was crazy.

“Not drink alcohol at a party? That’s because you’ve never drunk “. Everyone agreed. I rolled my eyes. I thought I joined a pirate crew, not an Alcoholics Anonymous group.

Eustass approached the table and lifted his boot to put it on the table. Not very hygienic, but I wasn’t going to be the one to teach manners to the captain. He offered me a glass and made me toast with him. Whatever, one more sip…

I tasted it, and I was surprised that you could actually drink this and tasted pretty good. It didn’t feel like I swallowed a match and then drank a full tank of gasoline.

“I win”. Eustass said after seeing I did not have a suffering expression after drinking. He gave me the full bottle of the drink he poured into the glass. “Think of it as my welcome gift”.

“Hmm, I’m seeing…” A group of pirates were gathered near to me, expectantly. I faked a gasp.

“What do you see? What do you see?” The pirate who had his hand on the table, palm looking up, asked impatiently. I ran a finger down the horizontal line that goes from the pinky to the index finger.

“That’s the love line… It is thin, and it falls…” I looked at him in the eye. “You’re not good at making the first step, am I wrong? You lose many opportunities by being so indecisive”.

“I-it is true…”. He seemed to remember something. “I should have talked with that dancer from Magari”. He punched the table and left, crestfallen.

“Next one?” I asked while drinking Eustass’ liquor. The bottle was almost half empty.

“Me! Here! I was first!” A whole bunch of voices arose. I yawned and continued to perform my hand reading show. It was cold before (and still was) but the drink brought colour back to my cheeks, creating a false sensation of warmth. Now, the musicians were playing less strident music. I yawned again. What time was it?

“I need to get some fresh air”. I informed everyone and got up, heading to the deck.

I stretched my arms, feeling the chilly nocturnal breeze. Hm? What was Killer doing there?

“Killer? If you are thinking about jumping to the sea, don’t do it”. My stupid brain in a state of inebriation thought he wanted to commit suicide. Somehow.

“What?” He looked at me. “Are you drunk?”.

“No”. I blinked. “I think”.

“How much did you drink?”

“Hmm…” I scratched my neck. “Half a bottle?”

“You’ll regret that tomorrow morning”

“Nah, don’t think so”. I smiled and answered with a soft voice, my gaze lost in the see. “What’s that?”.

“I was wondering the same thing”. Killer rested his arms on the railing to observe the weird paper lanterns floating in the water.

They looked like lily pads, but without a lotus flower. Instead, there were little paper lanterns, illuminating the sea. The landscape was pretty but suspicious. Who would have thrown so many lanterns to the sea? For what purpose?

A gust of wind made me cross my arms and strategically place myself behind Killer, so his broad back would serve me as a shield.

“Why are you out here?” I asked.

“I needed to think”. He answered. A more enigmatic answer than what I had imagined.

“Hmm…” I also leaned against the railing. “I’ll keep you company, then”. I smiled. Killer let out a sound that I did not interpret as a laugh until seconds later.

“You’ve drunk too much. Or you wouldn’t want to be closer to me than what you need”.

“That’s because you only beat me up!” I justified myself, remembering the fight on the first betting night and the training. “Well, and towels”. I laughed. “Thanks again, by the way”.

“And you only show up to give me more work”. He jested. “And you’re welcome”.

“I don’t only give you work”. I brought a hand to my chest, almost offended, and tried to think about other situations I hadn’t been a nuisance. “Hmm… Oh, meat pies! I did you a favour, there”. I stated, proudly.

“Anything else?”

“…W-well, I’m taking you guys to Fatamorgana. For free”.

“I’ll count that one just because I’m nice”. He said, amused by it.

“What else do you want?” I giggled. I couldn’t help but yawn again.

“You should go to sleep. We’ll keep training tomorrow”. I opened my mouth in surprise. Oh, shit. I frowned. I was hearing something.

“Do you hear that?” I asked. Killer stayed quiet to try and hear it, too.

“What?” He didn’t seem to hear anything.

“It sounds like music…”

“There’s music playing inside the mess hall, ______”. He told me as if I was stupid.

“No, no, it’s different. Listen… It sounds like trumpets and violins. Don’t you hear it?”

“I should read the tag of the bottle Kid gave you. It may have written _hallucinations_ as a secondary effect”. Okay, now I was offended. I rolled my eyes. He didn’t believe me, and the music was becoming louder every second.

“At least tell me you can see the fog”. I said, and the blond turned around.

“Yeah, I can see that”. He said, not expecting to actually see it. “I’ll notify the captain”. Killer walked away and entered the mess hall. Meanwhile, I was trying to discern something amidst the mist.

“What the…?” I managed to whisper before the shadow of a hand grabbed me by the arm, making me enter the haze.

I fell. But I felt the floor was not the same as the Victoria Punk. I lifted my gaze, but the mist was so dense I could not see more than my hands.

“Killer?” I whispered, wanting to see if I could get his attention, but scared to get _someone_ or _something_ else’s attention. I patted the floor, trying to find the railing, but I couldn’t find it. It didn’t make sense; I didn’t get so far from it. Where the hell was I?

I kept still on the floor, waiting to hear the door opening and Killer and Eustass approaching, but that never came. Then, I started hearing the music again. Now it was playing from behind. I got up and turned around, even though I could not see anything.

Steps. Someone was getting closer. Quickly, I created the illusion that I was holding a rifle and aimed at the direction the steps were coming from.

“Well, well, how did my henchmen forget to get rid of your weapon?” A high-pitched man’s voice spoke. A man in a tux and clown makeup emerged from the fog. When he saw I _had_ a gun, he seemed to get tense. “Where are my manners? You can call me Jill”. He bowed.

“What do you want?” I demanded to know. Jill adjusted his top hat. He let out a macabre guttural laugh.

“I just want to chat with you”. Yeah, sure. “You see, right now, your ship has entered Apricus’ territory. That explains the fog”. His condescending tone was making me mad. “And now you are on the Ice Nine, Apricus’ patrol ship, whose captain”. He took off his hat. “is me. A pleasure”.

“Is there anyone else from my ship here?” I asked. Jill laughed.

“No, no, we are not interested in those subjects. You see, I’m the owner of a very important establishment on the island. What do you think about working for me?”

“Do I look like I want to work for you?”. The alcohol talked instead of me, and even though I was thinking that maybe it wasn’t the best choice to show aggressiveness. “I want to go back to my ship”. Jill laughed.

“Sweetie, you’re not in any position to demand anything”. More people in tuxedos with the same circus clown makeup appeared, circling me. “Now… why don’t you give me your gun?”.

Shit. I was surrounded, and there were a lot of people. Shooting wasn’t an option. I couldn’t let them know I could not harm them. I had to think of something.

And quick.

My eyes roamed around erratically, in hopes of making up a plan in a few seconds, but every option was risky. Set the ship on fire? They would feel it doesn’t burn, they’d suspect of me, and they would find out. Make them believe we were going to crash against a big wall that appeared in the water out of nowhere? We would pass through, and they would find out. Faking I shoot myself right there to see if at least they threw my corpse to the sea? They would see there was no wound and, surprise, they would find out. This power was not good for attacking, that’s for sure.

No possible outcome was good (not for me, at least); I needed a different scenario. I threw my gun and lifted my hands.

“See? That wasn’t so difficult. Every woman ends up giving up in front of the Ice Nine crew”. He cackled.

“We could sell her for good money in Apricus”. One of the henchmen said. Human trafficking? I thought they were pirates.

“Tie her hands up and leave her with the rest”. Jill ordered to one of the clowns. I smiled. A clown wearing a tuxedo approached me and tied my wrists with a rope behind my back. Everyone else started to scatter away, returning to their original positions.

“Why don’t you show me the way?” I asked Jill, who turned around with a look that showed he was suspicious. “You can’t be scared of me,” I provoked him. “I couldn’t hit you even if I wanted to”. I turned around enough to show him my hands were perfectly tied. “Are you scared?”.

“Tch, stupid brat,”. It seemed I hurt his pride. “you’re going to regret making fun of me”. He approached me with steady steps. That’s it, closer…

When he was about to grab my hair forcefully, I delivered a blow to his nose (which, being red and round like that of a clown, made a squeaky sound when hit). He looked at me from the floor, holding his nose with teary eyes full of confusion and rage. I could almost read his mind: “Didn’t she have her hands tied?”. The thought made me smile. It had been very useful the fact that they all pretty much looked the same with those clothes and makeup. That way, no one noticed one clown more had appeared in the crowd and that he was the one that _tied_ me up. A mirage. The rope had never been real.

Before his henchmen could react, I hit him in his stomach and held him so he wouldn’t move, lifting him up from the floor at the same time I threatened to slit his throat with the illusion of a sharp dagger.

“Where does she keep getting her weapons from?” One of them whispered in fear.

“Let me go back to my ship,”. I drew the dagger as close as possible to his neck. “or I’ll kill your captain right here”.

“Son of a bitch…” Jill dared to cuss.

“Is this Apricus’ welcoming?” A new voice appeared. But it was a voice I had heard before. An unmistakable raspy voice. Kid.

Like a revelation, a metallic arm threw the people on deck to the sea. The sound of their bodies splashing on the water almost drowned the sound of Killer’s scythes slicing the poor bastards that escaped the redhead’s fury.

“Who do you think you are, taking one of the members of _my_ crew?” Kid shouted at Jill, and even I got scared at the hatred those words were spat with. I wouldn’t have liked to be in Jill’s place. “______, hand him over”. He smiled.

I let Jill go, the dagger vanishing, and he fell to the floor.

“P-please, I just wanted to talk, you see, I’m someone very important in Apricus…!” He started to beg for his life. As I feared, this made Eustass very nervous and had the contrary effect. You wanted mercy? He would kill you more viciously.

I didn’t feel like watching how Eustass was going to make minced meat out of that clown, so I went to head for the interior of the ship. If what they had said before was true, there were more people captured in this ship. It didn’t take long to find them, for when I opened the door I found five women trapped inside a cage.

“In all the god’s names…” Talked the one that looked the oldest. “Have we been rescued?”. I turned around to see how Kid was drubbing a corpse in a tuxedo.

“Uh… Yeah”. I answered. I took the keys hanging from the wall and opened the cage. The younger ones hugged me desperately with tears in their eyes.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you so much…”

“It’s fine, everything’s okay now” I tried to calm them down, caressing their back. The older woman, who looked like she could be fifty or thirty, lit up a cigarette (I don’t know where she got it from) and began a speech:

“Sisters! Don’t you fret, for their offence will be punished!” She took a pair of sunglasses (again, no idea where she got those from) and put them on, exhaling the smoke through her nose. “Ice Nine’s mafia will perish beneath our hands!” She shouted, and the girls clamoured in agreement, catching Kid’s and Killer’s attention.

Killer didn’t react much, but Kid jumped and pointed vehemently at the older woman.

“You are that crone from the brothel!”

“Oh, and you’re the cupcake from that day, ho, ho”. She groomed her white hair. Oh, then the rest of the women must work in Magari’s brothel, too. Did those bandits kidnap them to sell them in Apricus? The scene of Eustass running from the granny puzzled me, and I had to hit my head against the wall to hold in my laughter.

After a few instants of pulling myself together, the lady with a weakness for tall and strong redheads introduced herself as Patty, the superior meretrix of Magari’s brothel. Despite Kid’s fury, Killer offered them to get on the Victoria Punk until Apricus arrival, where they could get a ship to go back to their island. But they denied the offer (to the captain’s relief).

“Who do you think you’re talking to, tough guy? My girls are not only trained in the oldest art in the world; they’re also dangerous mortal weapons. We’ll hunt down those bandits, and I’ll hang their heads in my brothel!” I saw the girls had plundered the weapon room in the ship and were now armed to the teeth. I would take Patty’s word.

“We know how to navigate,” said another woman with blonde hair. “we’ll take this ship, and we will return on our own”. Killer nodded, and Kid just wanted to get it over with.

I said goodbye to them with a smile and, before I could get back to the Victoria Punk, Patty said to me:

“Honey, if we see each other in Apricus, come greet me, I’ll have a surprise for you”. She blew me a kiss and headed for Apricus.

“Do you know her?” Killer asked.

“No more than you do”. I answered dumbfounded.


	10. Dark Mist in Apricus

The next morning, I woke up with a terrible headache. I wasn’t the only one with a bad mood since other crew members were also holding their heads, in pain.

“Rough night?” Heat asked when I sat next to him on deck. Instead of answering “Yes” as any other normal person would, I let a low grumble answer the question while I rubbed my eyes.

“I shouldn’t have accepted the gift of a demon…” I thought about Kid offering me that bottle. The other remaining half I shared it with Heat’s cooking group after coming back from the tiring event in the Ice Nice.

According to the information we obtained, the Ice Nine was a mafia in Apricus that were engaged in human trafficking, specifically women. I wondered what kind of island it would be… I didn’t have information about this one. But Killer mentioned that maybe there was a settlement of the Marine there if slave’s trafficking and selling were “legal” around there. The Marine probably covered it up.

I also thought that those paper lanterns on the water may be used as illumination, having in mind that the whole island was surrounded by a dense fog (which still hadn’t dissipated).

“Look where you’re heading to, asshole!”. Someone shouted.

“You should be the one to be more careful, dumbass!” The other one answered.

This scene had occurred a few times already since it was hard to walk without clashing with someone. One would think it wasn’t funny anymore, but oh no. In fact, it became funnier every time.

“The captain said you went to party without us”. Heat jested.

“Ha”. I let out a dry laugh, sarcastically. “Yeah, if going to party means getting kidnapped by a group of trafficker clowns and planned to be sold in Apricus, hmm,”. I faked thinking it through. “yeah, I went to party. Sorry”. I joked, looking at him innocently.

“Maybe you have a magnet for kidnappings”. He said, and he obviously meant it for the fact that, basically, they had kidnapped me first.

“Agh, don’t remind me of that…” I rubbed my forehead as if I wanted to erase the memory. Heat smiled and raised his eyebrows at the same time he closed his eyes, in a gesture that said: “Alright if that’s what you want”.

“And what was up with those clowns wearing tuxedos? That’s some weird shit”. He changed the subject. I turned my head and look at him from head to toe, stopping to focus on the details of his leather corset, spikes and stuff. “… Very funny”. He understood what I meant, and I laughed.

The captain got out of his cabin, also with a headache, but hiding it better than the rest. Despite everything, the day was calm and transmitted a weird sensation of peace. Maybe this was caused by the grey landscape that inspired quietude. I wished every day was like that…

“How much more until we reach that shit hole?” The captain walked in circles on the deck. Surprisingly, he didn’t collide with anyone. Haki things, I thought.

“It’s just been four days since we set sail in Magari, be more patient, Kid”. Killer answered, appearing out of nowhere thanks to the mist. The redhead bit his nails.

“They will pay for this… I want to rip those stupid clowns’ head off already”. He hit his fist against his other palm, threateningly.

“Not if your girlfriend does it first”. Killer joked.

“Say that again!” He shouted. “For the last time, don’t mention that old witch again”. I don’t know if his cheeks were flushed because of the rage or the embarrassment. That day, I discovered that Killer was the only one that could make fun of the captain and get out alive. They must have known each other for a long time.

“Ahh, I’m still sad that the captain didn’t let those beauties from the brothel come on board…”. Toba said dramatically, and Chum smacked him.

“Shut up! And they were the ones that didn’t want to go onboard, Killer said it”. The doctor answered.

I smiled unconsciously. The vibe was cheerful, and I felt comfortable. I would have laid on my back, but I didn’t do it for two reasons:

I wanted to look at the sky, but it wasn’t possible due to the fog.

I didn’t want someone to crush my head by mistake while walking through the damned fog.

I sighed and leaned my head back. I would conform with that.

The next few days, I spent them the same way, which actually made me happy. It felt good to have a routine again without mishaps nor unexpected events. Wake up, train, eat, clean, sleep… and repeat. Nothing special. The more days passed, the more I thought a calendar would be a good idea. Since I was on this ship, I had lost (quite a bit) the notion of time. Luckily, Killer always seemed to have everything under control, and Kid already asked him what day it was. Constantly. I couldn’t help but think that they looked like a mother and her child:

_“Killer, how much more until we get there?”_

_“Five minutes, Kid”._

_“Are we there yet?”_

_“Not yet”._

_“What about now?”_

_“No”_

_“Now?”_

_“…No”._

I shoved that idea away before I would end up in a loop. However, another thought made me shiver. I had been waiting for a few days until Kid asked me what I saw in Apricus with “my powers”. I didn’t want that day to come, because I had no clue, and I didn’t want to risk it and lie about it. Everything I knew, they knew, too. But I was lucky, and he seemed to have forgotten or wasn’t in the mood to know.

Later, I discovered Killer identified that mist with the one that I described the first day I stepped onto the ship.

_“It’s too far…” I shook my head. “I can’t see beyond that, there’s a dense fog. We would need to be closer to the island”._

Thank God, Killer was smart. And out of pure luck, I had escaped my doom. He convinced Kid that this was what I told them about the first day and that when the fog would be gone, it would be useless to ask me anything then (since we would already be on the island). They would set it aside for the big guy: Fatamorgana. From time to time, I was attacked by random thoughts about the last island: “It’s dangerous”; “You are taking them to their death”. When I realized, I had already been biting my fingernails for a while, thinking about it.

If I wasn’t mistaken, nine days had already passed since the encounter with the Ice Nine. The mist was less dense and started to easily dissipate. Only a day left to reach the harbour.

Even though it was more visible now, there were still clashings between crew members, but that didn’t matter to Killer to continue our training. I am glad to say I improved quite a bit. Although it hurts to admit it, my concentration improved and the (better quality) mirages lasted longer and returned to their original shape faster if they were modified by an element of reality. Now, instead of looking like someone moved a watercolour tainted pencil in water, it was as if someone put his hand in front of a projector. The image changed slightly, but it didn’t get destroyed.

Even Kid seemed happy with my results, even though saying “happy” was too optimistic of me. Sometimes I doubted he could have such feelings.

“You have improved”. Killer told me. He let the broomstick that I had started to hate leaning against the mast. “How is sword training going?”.

“Pretty well,”. I jumped from the barrel, now without falling “I guess. Let’s say I’m at a level I could survive to an encounter with the Marines or another pirate ship, but I would instantly die in a duel against you”. I half-joked. Killer laughed in his distinctive way. He would slightly move his shoulders and huffed through the mask, without emitting any sound. I started to notice he did that more and more often in front of me, which I took it as a good sign of trust.

“You’re at a good level, then”. He picked up the stick and threw it at me. I grabbed it on the fly without getting surprised. That was a habit at the end of every training. “Leave it where it belongs and come to the kitchen, help me prepare today’s meals”.

“Yes, sir”. I smiled and placed the broomstick in its place in the cleaning room. Still, some shivers would run down my back when entering that room, but I didn’t focus on it.

“______! Keep an eye on the frying pan!” One of the cooks from the first cooking group shouted. With a “yes”, I stood in his place while he went to get more vegetables.

The difference between both cooking groups surprised me. Heat’s group was like a bunch of amateurs cosily cooking for fun. The first one, Killer’s group, well… It looked like we were in a bustling five start restaurant, cooking for the most ruthless critic in Paris. Now that I think about it, the captain could be seen as a fear critic. They had their reasons to act like that, I supposed.

Today’s dish, spaghetti with tomato sauce, was Killer’s favourite. Because of how it tasted? Not necessarily. I almost choke while drinking water when I saw Killer slurping the spaghetti through his mask’s holes.

“What the actual fuck- “. I started to cough, and Toba patted my back. That scene awoke Chum’s laughter. “What have I just seen?” I muttered to myself, with some last coughs.

 **“Another victim of the spaghetti”,** Wire laughed.

Up to that moment, I hadn’t stopped to think about how Killer ate with his mask on. The answer didn’t surprise me, but it also didn’t leave me indifferent. He would have to clean it every now and then.

“______,”. The captain’s voice called me a moment later. “you’re on vigil duty tonight on the crow’s nest, ring the bell when you see the island”.

“Alright”. I said after swallowing the last bite on my plate. Kid kept looking at me, and I puckered my lips. “Yes, captain”. I rolled my eyes when he left with a pleased smile.

“It would be better if you rest now, don’t fall asleep keeping guard at night”. Heat recommended. I took his advice, washed my dish and cutlery, and went to my room. I laughed a bit. “My room”. I had started to call the cellar my room. I picked up a jacket to not freeze during the night, and I laid on the hammock.

Hours later, a few knocks on my door woke me up.

“Nightguard, ___”. Although the voice sounded muffled, I knew it was Toba. Nobody else in the whole ship called me “___”. That fact did not make him change his mind. I started to not care days ago.

I put my jacket on and got out. I looked at the top of the mast. I didn’t think that I would have to climb there. I would pray not to fall.

There was no one around. I placed a hand on the net of ropes that they used as a ladder. Then, one foot, the other hand, the other foot, and so forth. It took longer than expected since I didn’t want to fall for going too fast. When I reached the crow’s nest, I grabbed onto the rim as if my life depended on it. In fact, it did depend on it. I looked around. There was still a bit of mist, but you could see the scenery pretty well. Only sea for the moment, though.

I was counting the paper lanterns I saw on the water to not fall asleep. 324, 325, 326… It was more monotonous than tiring. There was also a spyglass hanging from the crow’s nest, which I took and looked through it. But still, no land in sight. A sound on the deck caught my attention. I leaned a bit and peeked, sawing Killer leaving the interior of the ship. What was he doing here so late?

The blond leaned on the starboard’s railing and looked at the sea. My eyes widened, as big as oranges when I saw that he was taking the helmet off. Even though he was facing backwards from me, when I saw him brushing his hair with his hand, I separated myself from the edge, and I crashed my back against the mast, wanting to merge with the wood. My heart was racing at miles per hour… Should I look again? I bit my lip, deliberating what I should do. A side of me wanted to ignore the situation, and the other side was just too curious. Maybe just a little peek…?

I leaned over stealthily again. There was no one there. I quickly sat against the mast once again, and I sighed. Okay, I had been too slow and lost my opportunity, but I think it was for the best. If I had seen his real face, what would I have done after that? How would I have been able to look at him in the face again? Well, in the mask.

“Any news?” Killer’s voice made me jump, almost making me scream if it hadn’t been because he covered my mouth with his hand. “Do you want to wake up the whole ship?” He reproached me. I pushed away his hand and whispered:

“If you hadn’t given me a heart attack, I wouldn’t have wanted to scream”. I answered. The blond, now with his mask on, had been climbing up the net. That’s why he had disappeared from my sight. I hope he hadn’t seen me spying… Well, I wasn’t spying. I was on guard. Exactly. I was guarding. “No, no news, except there are more than three hundred paper lanterns in the sea”. Killer looked at me. “Yes, I counted them. What are you doing here?”. I changed the subject.

“I couldn’t sleep. I went to get some fresh air and to think”. He said. It reminded me of the same situation of that night at the party. What worried him? I didn’t feel brave enough to ask him, so I just nodded. “Well, it won’t take much longer until the island is visible. See you then”. He said goodbye and got down the crow’s nest with ease.

“Good night”. I answered.

And he was right. A hundred paper lanterns more, I started to catch a glimpse of the island’s outline. I grabbed the spyglass and observed: you could discern the harbour, some buildings… The sun was also rising from behind the island. I placed the spyglass back and rang the bell. I jerked my head away when it sounded louder than I had imagined. I almost went deaf.

I decided to get down from the crow’s nest before everyone got out and saw me trying not to kill myself and laughing at me.

“It was about time! Let’s kick those clowns!”. Kid growled, acting as if he was rolling up his sleeves… I don’t know why, because he never wore a shirt (or at least not a long-sleeve one), just a coat hanging from his shoulders, so I don’t know where that inspiration came from. The desire to fight, I supposed.

I got near the bow and observed the clear sky for the first time in days. The sun dyed the clouds with a beautiful orange shade, and I laid my head on my hands, leaning against the railing. I closed my eyes, letting the sunlight warm my skin. I opened them when the little warmth I had received disappeared. The sun was setting again, hiding behind the island.

“What the hell…?”


	11. Golden Ticket

Fort the next few minutes the ship approached the harbour, no one said anything. We were too busy watching how the sun, which had just started to illuminate the city a few seconds ago, was now setting, making it night-time once more. The tension in the air could be cut with a knife. And, obviously, that knife was Eustass, screaming bloody murder:

“What the fuck has just happened?”. He looked angry with the sky. I shrugged, even though he wasn’t talking to me nor looking at me. “Nevermind…”. He muttered. “We have to focus on making those scumbags pay”. He put on his belt with a gun and was going to jump from the ship, but Killer stopped him.

“Wait, Kid. We don’t know what or who is on this island. Don’t roll the dice; it’s better if we keep a low profile. If you find them and it’s safe, you can go ahead and burn the whole island if you want to. But not before that”. The seriousness with which he said it made me shiver. I hoped it wasn’t necessary to burn down an island (where innocent civilians lived) for a vengeance. Kid listened to Killer as if he was his personal counsellor. Thank goodness someone thought for him.

The port was deserted, safe for three empty sailing boats and the ship in which Patty and her workers had gone.

“How did they get faster than us here?” Toba said to himself, without expecting an answer.

There was a stone path that led to the town. Before entering, there was a big iron gate wide opened. On top of the gate was a sign with gothic letters that said:

**[ Welcome to Apricus ]**

We anchored and left the Victoria Punk. Kid led the group of pirates that followed him, forming a line with a few small groups on both sides of the queue, destroying the symmetry. If Killer was planning to stay under the radar with that many people and their…looks... He was too optimistic. I was curious to know how the island was, so I approached the start of the line, near Kid, Killer, Heat and Wire. I received a sideways glance from the captain, but I pretended not to have noticed.

A tunnel of musty branches loomed over us while we walked on that rocky path. If it had been silent, the route through that tenebrous groove would have seemed taken out of a horror book. But to make matters worse, not far from here, there was playing some carnival music. Or maybe circus music. I wasn’t sure; I had never gone to neither of them.

Crossing the gate and entering the town, we were surprised to see the streets were empty. Not even a soul was roaming around. But a turmoil of people could be heard not far.

“Maybe they’re all gathered for a festivity?”

“We’ll have to go and take a look”. Kid said with a threatening smile. He was probably already thinking about a thousand ways to get revenge on the Ice Nine inside his head. It would be horrible to be his psychologist.

Turning around the corner, a wide road (bigger than three meters of width) appeared. A black chariot, as if in a parade, was getting closer, surrounded by two masses of people dressed in strange gowns and masks. Even weirder than the ones our crew were wearing, I’m not gonna lie.

“Are they a fucking cult or what?”. Kid said. Indeed, those similar gowns they wore, and demon masks gave out that impression.

“We could benefit from this carnival”. Killer mentioned. Kid looked at him, waiting for an answer. The blonde just pointed to a few shelves where those gowns and masks were sold. Having got close, we saw there was no seller. Just a sign made of paper that had written, with sluggish handwriting: “Masks for 600 berries – Gowns for 1200 berries. Please, take your item and leave the money inside the wicker basket”.

We all looked at the basket when we finished reading. There were some coins in there. Kid and Killer looked at each other.

“Great, each of you, grab a costume and scatter away in the same groups as always”. The captain ordered. Remembering I wasn’t included in any group, he turned to look at me and continued. “You’ll go with us”.

I nodded and took a garnet mask that looked like an angry demon. Some small horns were poking out of each side of the forehead and, even though it was frowning, it also had a big smile, creating some grotesque wrinkles on the cheeks. Curiously, it only accentuated the rage in the mask’s expression. I put it on, and seeing the rest of the crew with those masks was a mix of funny and grim. Especially, because I knew that, behind those masks, were hiding real demons if they decided to unleash their rage. Especially the redhead wearing a black mask with fangs instead of horns. Like a duck to water.

I noticed that, like myself, Kid, Heat, Chum and Wire spared wearing one of those weird gowns. Killer, for obvious reasons, was only wearing one of those kimonos, a dark blue one that looked very light. Toba decided it was all or nothing, so he was wearing a mask and a kimono, both white, looking like a punkie ghost.

“Ready!”. He did a weird pose that made everyone laugh except for Kid and Killer. The rest of the crew dressed up (one rascal even stole the coins from the basket) and separated themselves into groups. The chariot was getting closer, accompanied by the crowd.

“Let’s blend in with the crowd. Don’t get separated”. Kid ordered. We did as told. Everyone was clamouring to the people that were on the chariot. I took off my mask a bit to see what the reason for such a fuss was. I frowned when I saw there were guys like those from the Ice Nine, wearing a tuxedo and clown makeup. Kid also saw it, but Killer placed his hand on his shoulder, fearing he would jump onto the chariot in front of so many witnesses. A voice reverberated through the street, coming from on top of the chariot through a loudspeaker.

“Dear citizens! We are proud to see you are enjoying the sixth anniversary of the casino Solaris, which has been possible thanks to the great Ice Nine! A round of applause!” Before he even finished, people were clapping like there was no tomorrow. There was too much fanatism, what did this mafia do for this town? “To celebrate it, even more, this night…” He did a long pause, and the people laughed (needless to say, I did not get the joke, if there was any). “…Solaris’ doors will be open for those who received a golden ticket!”.

That caused a great frenzy among the public. I didn’t understand anything, so I asked someone who didn’t look too busy, still clapping.

“Excuse me… what is that about the ticket?” The masked man turned around and took off his mask to speak better to me. The man had a kind face, probably was in his thirties.

“Oh, you missed it? I’m sorry to hear that”. He genuinely said. “Five days ago, they sent a hundred golden tickets randomly to people’s mailbox, saying that whoever got it would obtain a prize, but no one knew it would be something so spectacular like an entrance to Solaris, wow!” He seemed excited. I debated between asking him about the casino or not. It would be quite obvious I wasn’t from this island, and I didn’t want to look suspicious, so I didn’t.

“So…” I thought. “Have you received a golden ticket?”.

“Yeah”. The guy pulled out a piece of shining plastic. It had the word “Solaris” written in the same gothic letters from the city’s sign, some vegetal motifs to decorate, and two little holes on the right side. “I’ve been very lucky”. He laughed. It shook me that he wasn’t scared to get his ticket stolen in front of so many people if it was something so valuable. I, for example, could steal it. But I didn’t need to, so I just thanked him and said goodbye. He put on his mask again and stored his ticket in his pocket.

The chariot had already passed, leaving a few people behind the crowd, but the majority kept following it. I kept walking in the same direction as before, where Kid and the rest were standing in the road.

“Are we gonna kick their asses or not?” Kid and Killer were arguing.

“No, Kid, not in front of thousands of people”.

Killer had a good point. Mostly, because they seemed to have a great fondness of them, so any attempt to attack would result in a horde of fanatics chasing us with forks and torches. Maybe another little shop near there sold them.

Speaking of little shops, Toba just appeared out of nowhere with some snacks he stole from one of them. I didn’t think twice about it and accepted the food I was offered. A good side-dish to enjoy the show. It was curious that there was no vigilance in the shops. It seemed that people trusted each other enough to not to steal, so I inferred, consequently, that pirates were not common in those waters. That would also explain why that guy was so nonchalant about pulling out that ticket in the middle of the crowd.

“Then let’s just enter that shitty casino and burn it down!”

“We don’t have a ticket”.

“Let’s steal it!”.

“It is not safe to do that, less around here”.

“Have you finished arguing?” I said while I finished the last bite of my snack. Kid and Killer looked at me. I created the illusion of the ticket I had just seen between my fingers and let that speak for me.

“Where did you get that from?” Kid wanted to grab it, but I made it disappear. He then understood it was a mirage, and I sensed he felt a bit stupid. I hope he wouldn’t hold a grudge against me for that.

“I found a guy that received that ticket five days ago, so I memorized how it looked like. We can lie to enter the casino”. I explained. Kid looked stressed before, but now was looking as if he had just won the lottery. He gave me some friendly pats on the back.

“I knew not throwing you overboard was a good idea”. He stated, proudly, as if it had been his idea not to kill me. I looked at him ironically, but he didn’t seem to care.

After Eustass treated me like a dog that brought the daily diary for him, one of the leaders of the groups in the crew came by running, whose name I did not remember, and I wouldn’t have recognized him even without a mask.

“Captain! There’s a crazy crone that says she wants to see you!”

“Not again…” He rubbed his face with his hand. I guessed they must have encountered Patty. He growled a bit and ordered us to follow him with a gesture of his hand. “I’m only going because she may have relevant information”. He tried to justify himself, and it made me smile a bit.

We followed the direction he guided us to. The streets were still solitary, getting narrower as we turned several corners. The music was getting farther. We entered in a tavern where there were only Kid pirates and Patty and her workers. There was no one in the bar, but they had drinks served, nonetheless.

“Cupcake!” Patty greeted Eustass, whose forehead vein seemed it was going to explode.

“I’m gonna kill that crone…” Kid muttered through his teeth.

“You won’t”. Killer answered. I couldn’t make out if it had been an order or just a supposition.

“And ______, honey! Come here”. She patted twice the chair next to her, inviting me to sit. I smiled as a greeting and sat down. Toba and the rest also sat down. And I mention Toba first because that bloke looked like he only wanted to flirt with Patty’s companions. That earned him another smack from Chum. They also had masks (now laying on the table) and gowns like those from the store. I wondered if they had also stolen them or paid for them.

“Let’s get to the point, why did you want to see me? I have to tear off those clowns’ heads”. Kid was exasperated, and the painting of Saturn devouring his son by Goya appeared in my mind. Eustass was capable of keeping his word to the letter.

“Because you might be interested in knowing this”. Patty put some golden tickets on the table. “These are to enter Solaris casino”. Eustass reached his hand to grab one, but Patty hit his hand. “Paws off! My girls earned those tickets, you get your own tickets”. She scolded him as a teacher would to their student, and Eustass got a bit flustered.

“I don’t need them anyway!”. He grabbed me by the arm and pushed me next to him, smiling. “______ will make us enter that place”. I didn’t know if I should feel flattered.

“Good, but you must know what hides behind that casino before entering”. She lit up a cigarette. She gave it a drag and passed it next to her fellow, who gave it another drag and passed it again. “By the way, we didn’t see your ship when arriving at the port”. She let out a mocking laugh. “Good for you, we have already gathered the information for you. Take it as a thank you for letting us out of that cage”. She winked at me.

“Yeah, yeah, start talking”. Kid punched the table with his fist. Patty rolled her eyes and began explaining.

“It seems that Apricus was a very sunny island before. Didn’t you get surprised that it’s always night here?”. She said.

“Yes. We arrived just in time to see how the sun was setting”. Killer mentioned.

“Exactly. So it seems that six years ago, this mafia, Ice Nine, arrived at the island searching for its control. Their leader is Umbra, but no civilian has ever seen him. That changes today because one of the special guests at Solaris is the Ice Nine’s leader. We have reasons to suspect he’s also responsible for the eternal night in Apricus; he must be a devil fruit user.

“What powers does he have?” Kid interrupted.

“I have no clue about that”. The cigarette returned in her hands. She gave it another drag and restarted the ritual. “So, if you want to end this mafia, the best choice is to start from the headmaster”. Kid was going to get up, but Patty lifted her hand. “Not so quick, buster. It’s not that easy”. She smiled teasingly.

“What else is there?” He growled.

“Did you think anyone could be in the same room with Umbra?” She laughed. “No, no, no”. She clicked her tongue. “You have to earn it”. She pointed at him with her index finger.

“How?” He rubbed his eyes, tired of that lady.

“The casino is huge. There are several numbered rooms. In those rooms, some games are organized. Some winners will be selected and, at last, the champion can spend the rest of the evening with someone as important as the leader.

“Why would someone want to win such a stupid prize?”.

“You better lower your voice if you don’t want half the town to chase after you. Fanatism is a serious problem, here. Umbra is an idol for the citizens, for some reason”. Patty warned him, and a girl with blonde hair continued the sentence.

“I’ve been told it is because he offers light to the town”. She said shily.

“Light?” Toba inquired.

“Yes. Six years ago, the light stopped from shining upon the island. Everything was covered by darkness. But then, Umbra appeared on the island, like a messiah, saving its people from the lack of light. Solaris is the brightest place in the city, that’s why it’s so famous. He saved the orchards and the animals; he helps especially in times of cold. He’s like a god for them, so every year, they celebrate this festival”.

“Too much of a coincidence that six years occurred this disaster and someone came just to save them”. Kid said what everyone was thinking.

“We agree”. Patty nodded.

“What types of games are there in the casino?” Killer asked.

“Hmm,”. Patty was thinking, still smoking when his turn arrived. “something about cards, dices, chess, I don’t know. Typical games of a casino, I guess”. Even though she also treated Kid sternly, I sensed the difference in her behaviour when talking to another person that wasn’t the redhead (or his “cupcake”).

I knew Killer was wondering if we could rig the games to win them. I was thinking the same thing.

“We just have to win and beat them up, easy”. Kid got up from his chair, but Patty interrupted him once again.

“Not so fast, young man! Where do you think you are going looking like that? All of you!”. We all looked at our clothes. “If you don’t want to get kicked out of the casino, you'll put a bit of effort in your attires”. She clapped twice, and the girls got up from the table in search of some bags. “Rosita, you help ______ with her outfit”. She sent the order to the blonde girl from before.

Everything happened so fast I didn’t realize what Patty was planning until a few instants later.

“This dress will look gorgeous on you”. Rosita said. Oh, dear. It was a tight golden dress with cleavage. Very appropriate for Solaris, I supposed. Rosita guided me to a room to have the privacy to change. I could have sworn I heard Eustass screaming from another room: “I’m not wearing this shit!”.

I didn’t want to behave like a five-year-old (or, for a matter of fact, like Kid) so I decided to finish quickly with it and putting on the dress.

“I knew it! It fits like a glove”. Rosita said with both hands clasped in front of her mouth. The dress was not too short, but it didn’t reach my knees. It was a high slit dress, showing a bit of my thigh. And the back was uncovered, but it had a design of ropes like those of a corset. For the shoes, I kept wearing my long boots.

Meanwhile, I was regretting every decision I had ever made to reach this moment, Rosita was adorning me like a Christmas tree, putting some bracelets and earrings on me. I declined the collar since my grandfather’s locket had that place on my neck already assigned.

“By the way… On the chariot, they said that Solaris will open its doors when night came, but…”

“It’s always night-time?” She took the words right out of my mouth, and we both laughed.

“Exactly. How do they know when to go?”.

“There’s a bell tower that announced the hypothetical sunset. When you wear the bells chiming, you’ll know the night has come”. She answered with kindness.

Great, more bells and more bad memories. That only gave fuel to my theory that I was part of a macabre divine game. The worst thing is that I didn’t know if I was winning or losing.

“Are you all ready? Come out, come out”. Patty rushed us with more claps.

The truth is I didn’t feel like going out of the room with those clothes, but she was right. They would have probably banned us from entering Solaris if we presented ourselves looking like pirates.

I was also curious as to how would the rest be dressed. I held in a giggle.

“______, come out, let me see you!” Patty shouted with excitement. I sighed, and I turned the doorknob.

I hope the gods are having fun with this macabre game, I thought before opening it.


	12. Horror Carnival

**Graphic and violent description.**

* * *

When I pushed the door open, I hit Wire by mistake, since he was behind it, complaining about the clothes they were wearing with the others.

 **“I’m sorry”,** I signed, apologizing with a remorseful expression for almost making him fall.

I waited a few seconds for his answer. A **“Don’t worry”** or even a **“Fuck you”,** but he just stared at me as if he didn’t recognize me. I shook my head a bit, frowning, waiting for a verbal answer. I looked around. Heat had the same expression as Wire, his gaze lost. Kid’s eyes moved erratically around the room and Killer… Well, God knows what Killer’s expression looked like at the moment. Toba was covering his mouth with his hand, lost in thought. After a few seconds, he put his hand away and said:

“Can ___ take the dress back to the ship when we’re done with this?” He asked to no one in particular. Chum, as always, smacked him in the back of the neck. Patty appeared behind Eustass.

“Oh, honey, you look beautiful! Doesn’t she, cupcake?” Patty asked Kid in a teasing manner.

“What?! No! I mean, yes, but”. Eustass stumbled with his words, getting his tongue tied. “She doesn’t even look like a pirate!” He seemed to find the perfect way to get out of that situation.

I looked at all of them again, holding my laughter. Everyone was wearing fancy tuxedos, but the best part was that not all of them wore the same, oh, no. Wire was wearing a dark brown tuxedo; Heat a dark blue one; Chum’s was black, and Toba wore a dark grey one.

Kid was wearing a dark crimson suit that matched his hair and mask. Killer was wearing a white one, which surprised me. I would have never imagined Killer wearing such a pure colour, but it matched his mask. Aesthetically, Patty had made a good purchase. Or robbery, I didn’t know what methods that woman used to get what she wanted.

“You also don’t look like pirates, now that you mention it”. I barely could say, trying not to explode in laughter. I bit my lip and breathed in.

“We look like a bunch of toffs of Vetusta!*” Toba exclaimed and got ready to act a short scene. “Hmph, goodness, can’t you see this painting’s got… patina?”. He said with a comedic voice to Wire while he pointed to an invisible painting on the wall.

“Minister, how many sugar cubes? One? Two?” Chum joined into the representation, mimicking he was holding a teacup while talking to Heat.

“Two, if you’re so kind. By the way, don’t go to the theatre today and come to confession instead”. To my surprise, Heat played along, talking with an elegant and serious voice.

“To confess, yeah, of course”. Toba laughed and winked exaggeratedly a few times while elbowing Wire.

 **“To confess in his bed”,** Wire added.

“Can you guys shut up!” Eustass shouted while pinching his nose bridge. “Why did I let them buy the novel of _The Regent_ …?” He regretted.

I couldn’t hold it in any longer and started laughing out loud. They all turned around to look at me, but I couldn’t stop. I held my stomach and wiped a tear when I got control of my lungs again.

“I-I’m sorry”. I tried to stop my laughter. “It’s too funny”. I bit my lip to stop the corners of my lips into forming a smile. “But you won’t have any struggles acting as the bourgeoise with such manners, that’s for sure”. I giggled, and Chum started to laugh, too. Heat and Wire also smiled, and Toba kept acting as if he was a stuck-up rich man. Patty joined the conversation with a small chuckle.

“I’m glad to hear that, because if you mess it up”. She drew out a dagger. “you’ll hear from me”. Surprisingly, the granny’s threat was powerful. After that, she turned around and patted my arms, as if she was admiring a sculpture she carved herself. “This is the gift I told you I’d have for you”.

Without previous warning, she put some kind of harness on my thigh and put the dagger in it. The dagger had a bronze handle. She covered the harness with the dress, and it hid perfectly, but I could grab the weapon quickly if needed. That was the reason for the thigh slit, I thought.

“Each one of my girls received a dagger like this one when I took them in”. They smiled and drew out their weapons, perfectly hidden until that moment. Even Kid seemed surprised that they had had weapons. “I want you to have something to remember us when we part ways”. She smiled, making my own smile blossom.

“Thank you, Patty. You’ve done too much for us”.

“Oh, nonsense”. She shook her hand. As if that had reminded her of something, she looked at her wrist, where she had a watch. “There are still quite a few hours left until night falls”. She realized what she had said and repeated her own words making air quotes. “Night falls”.

“Meanwhile, you can go see the carnival that takes place at the north wing. Plus, it’s near the casino, so when the bells ring, you won’t take long to get to Solaris”. Rosita offered. I felt kind of bad since all of that was organized by the mafia, but I was really excited about the idea of going to a carnival for the first time. I looked at my mate’s faces to know if I could hope or if I should throw the idea to the bin.

“Hell no”. Kid said. “We’re not going to waste time with such bullshit”. Goodbye to my hope… Why did I feel a déjà-vu? I let my shoulders down, disappointed.

“Come on, cupcake, a _lil’_ bit of fun won’t hurt you”. Patty insisted. With her baud’s wit, she asked me. “Have you ever gone to a carnival, honey?”.

“Uhm, no…”. Her question took me by surprise, and I straightened up.

“Oh, that’s a shame. You would have loved it; I’ve been told it’s one of the best there are”. Patty said with fake sadness, waiting for Eustass’ reaction. I also found myself waiting for the captain’s answer. He looked at me, huffing like a wild boar. He looked at Patty and then at me again.

“Fine, let’s go to that fucking carnival”. He said while turning his head, not wanting to look at anyone in the eyes. I couldn’t help smiling, and Toba gave me a thumbs up, symbolizing victory. Of course, Toba would also have wanted to go if that meant having fun.

“Well thought, Patty”. Toba whispered to the lady, who just winked and shushed him with her index finger in front of her lips.

“I know men to well, I’ve dealt with many”. She whispered back.

ˏ⸉ˋ‿̩͙‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ ‿̩̥̩‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˊ⸊ˎ ˏ⸉ˋ‿̩͙‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ ‿̩̥̩‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˊ⸊ˎ ˏ⸉ˋ‿̩͙‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ ‿̩̥̩‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˊ⸊ˎ ˏ⸉ˋ‿̩͙‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ ‿̩̥̩‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˊ⸊ˎ

Dressed up in those extravagant clothes and our masks on, we blended in with the crowd, hiding our real identities. We still didn’t know if there was a Marine’s quarter around, but it was better to take precautions. After all, Kid, Killer and the others were infamous pirates with a price on their heads. That didn’t affect me, directly, but it was better to hide.

“Home-made ice cream with fruit directly from Umbra’s orchard! The best ones you’ll find! Try them here!”. Various voices shouted from their stands among the noise in the streets.

“Ooh, that looks tasty”. Toba licked his lips.

“You can’t steal them anymore; the sellers are watching now”. I told him and laughed. Despite that, they looked more like a decorative element meant to be nice to the customers, since they kept leaving the coins in wicker baskets and took her purchase.

“Do you think that stops me from stealing?” He joked, but Killer threw him a warning glare through his mask.

“Come one, I’ll pay”. I approached the ice cream stand, and the seller went to take my order. “Seven ice cream cones, please”. I left the exact amount of money on the basket as the locals did.

The man nodded and completed my order in no time. I handed the ice creams to them two by two. Thank goodness Eustass’ ice cream and mine were the last ones because he refused to eat ice cream at a carnival and didn’t want to take it off my hands. Why? It was too childish for the great and almighty Eustass Kid. I added the last bit, but I was sure he was thinking it.

“If he doesn’t want it, I’ll eat it; this thing’s delicious”. Toba spoke with his mouth full.

“Share some, would you, guzzler?” Chum elbowed him.

“Look who’s talking”. He elbowed him back.

Eustass looked at the ice cream again. Then at me. Then back at the ice cream. For fuck’s sake, Eustass, take the goddamn ice cream.

As if he had read my mind, he finally took it and brought it to his mouth. Forgetting he still had his mask on. This time it took all of my will power to maintain a poker face.

“Fucking shit”. He muttered, slightly embarrassed. I took a napkin off the stand (I hope they were free) and I cleaned his mask the best I could before he shoved my hand away and stole the napkin. “I’ll do it”.

I continued eating my ice cream, and I had to agree with Toba, it was really good. When I looked at him, he had smashed the ice cream scoop to his mouth to hold in his laughter, and I bit my lip to avoid remembering the moment and laughing.

I inspected my surroundings. There were families having fun, old people who also were wearing masks, children running, some other couple holding hands… It all seemed very happy and made me smile. At first sight, it didn’t look as if anything was out of the ordinary. The complete opposite, it looked better than any other place I had ever seen. But I knew all of that was a façade of something darker that lurked behind fairy lights and smiles.

It didn’t take long for us to cross through the coarse veil that separated the feeling of joy of the harsh reality.

ˏ⸉ˋ‿̩͙‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ ‿̩̥̩‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˊ⸊ˎ ˏ⸉ˋ‿̩͙‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ ‿̩̥̩‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˊ⸊ˎ ˏ⸉ˋ‿̩͙‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ ‿̩̥̩‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˊ⸊ˎ ˏ⸉ˋ‿̩͙‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ ‿̩̥̩‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˊ⸊ˎ

“I’ll take care of your next cleaning shift if you ride the pink horse with bows and sparkles”. Toba pointed at the merry-go-round, where a bunch of kids were screaming merrily.

“Deal”. Heat accepted without a second thought and approached the carousel with colourful horses and shining lights to wait for it to stop so he could get on (he waited out of pure politeness because he could have gotten on even if the carousel had been spinning at fifty miles per hour). A faltering voice sounded through the loudspeakers hanging from the lampposts:

_“Ladies and gentleman, Amok Steed’s round starts now. Please, for your own safety, don’t go on the carrousel if you are underage, you are pregnant or suffer from any disease”._

Heat gaped at the loudspeaker with a curious look. Kid also seemed surprised about that. The voice continued:

_“Bravest ones, get on your horses with this only goal: don’t fall off the merry-go-round. The winners will get a prize, but the first one to fall will receive a punishment. Good luck!”._

“Now, this is getting interesting. Let’s see what’s the big prize”. Kid and the others, knowing their captain’s ambition for always being victorious, got closer to Heat without complaining. “Don’t think you’ll slope off, you’re going up, too”. He looked at me.

“What?” I said a little bit nervous, but I knew arguing was not an option. “Aye, captain”. I said without any emotion.

When it stopped, a thirty-second countdown started.

_30…_

Heat got up on the pink horse, and Wire, Toba, Chum and Killer on the nearest horses. I picked one close to Killer’s, not wanting to lose sight of them just in case.

_…23…_

I turned my head like an owl when I felt something at my back.

“Eustass? If you wanted to get the purple horse for yourself, you could have said so”. I said, trying to get down of the horse.

_…16…_

“No, dumbass”. He put me back on the horse, and he sat behind me. “I don’t want you to fly away from the carousel”.

“Thank you for trusting me”. I jested, rolling my eyes and trying to make room for Eustass so he wouldn’t fall.

_…7…_

“You’re welcome”. He answered to tease me. “For fuck’s sake, why are these little shits so small?”. I was so close to him; my back was leaning on his chest, and the horse’s pole was digging in my shoulder blade.

_…3…_

“Are you sure it’s not your fault for being so big?”

_...1…_

“Do you want to know what’s truly big?”

_…0…_

I didn’t have time to be shocked nor answer back since the carrousel had started and it wasn’t going at the same speed as before. Of course not. Now it was twice (or even thrice) the speed and the horses were moving up and down like jumping frogs, making me feel an uncomfortable sensation in my stomach when suddenly descending. A few seconds later, when I thought I had gotten used to it, the speed grew, and I closed my eyes, holding on to the pole for dear life, my knuckles turning white.

The increasing speed was pulling me from the right side of the horse, and I would’ve fallen if it hadn’t been for Eustass, who grabbed me by the waist with one hand (he held the pole with the other one as if he wasn’t even trying). I opened my eyes when I saw I was still alive, and I glanced around. My eyes were half-lid since the cold wind made me blink constantly.

Luckily, our crew didn’t have any problems. Of course, they were strong, and this must have been a child’s play (quite literally) for them. I saw some other poor people that weren’t as lucky and got sent out flying to a protective fence they must have put meanwhile. Protection for the audience, not for the man who fell, who seemed to have broken his arm, to say the least. I almost couldn’t focus on the voice that started to sound again through the speakers:

_“Ohh, what a shame, the first one to go down. Do you know what that means?”._

The public clamoured in amusement. The merry-go-round was going so fast I only lost a second of the scene that happened among the spectators. Not enough to lose track of two clowns in tuxedos lifting the man by his arms. He screamed when they touched his damaged arm. With eerie smiles, one of the clowns drew out a gun and pointed at the man’s hand.

“What…?”. I didn’t even whisper, I just mouthed it, frowning before the confusing scene.

“P-please, I have a golden ticket…” The man tried to reason. “You can’t do this…” After a few more rounds, I noticed he was the man that showed me his golden ticket before.

Eustass took off his hand of my waist to cover my eyes and got closer (if that was possible) to say in my ear: “Don’t look”.

Then, a gunshot. I lifted my shoulders a bit upon the sound, my heart beating so fast I feared it would leave my chest. Fortunately, my hatred towards those sounds could not have been perceived thanks to the carrousel’s movement, which hid it. I thought they were reducing the speed, and my stomach was thankful for it.

Surprisingly, the audience started to clap when they killed him. The enjoyed it. They were cheering on to shoot him, and now they were taking joy in his death. Everyone. Women, men, old people, children… Everyone was laughing. It was a creepy portrayal seen from the merry-go-round, like a cinematic passing before my eyes.

The carousel stopped roughly, but it was better than nothing. Kid got down without showing any symptoms of dizziness and, without having to ask for it, he held me with both hands from the waist to let me down, too. The sudden change in the ambience made me tumble when I touched the floor, feeling my legs and my whole body like a heavy sack. I leaned on Eustass to use him as the only support I had near me, and I was grateful he didn’t seem bothered by it. On the contrary, he put his hand on my shoulder to help me stabilize.

The rest of the crew got down (Chum was a bit dizzy) with some other civilians that had managed to escape that man’s fate. The only ones surprised about it were us. Everyone else started acting as if nothing had happened, proud smiles in their faces for having won.

 _“Congratulations to the winners! Enjoy your prize”._ The voice disappeared, and the same clowns started to hand out the prizes to those who hadn’t fallen. One of them approached Eustass and me.

“…A fucking teddy bear…”. Eustass muttered. “Are they kidding me?”. He tightened his grasp on the bear with such strength his fists started to tremble, and the teddy bear’s cloth was starting to rip, so I put my hand on his arm to try and calm him as Killer did. Miraculously, he looked at me, and it worked. Well, almost. He ripped the plushie’s head off, threw it to the ground and stepped on it, but nothing more.

I’m not gonna lie, I also wanted to shove that plushie to their faces, not to say a more vulgar expression, but instead of that, I gave it to a child in the audience that didn’t stop to look at it with his eyes wide open.

“Wow, thank you so much, miss!”. The kid smiled, showing his missing teeth. “Umbra bless you!”. I just nodded, giving him a forced smile.

“They’re not that bad, right, captain?” Toba joked, approaching with the teddy bear. Kid looked at him without a word, a clear warning to shut up. “Sorry”. He dropped the toy to the floor, kicking it away. Heat, Killer, Wire and Chum also got rid of them since they had their hands empty.

“Let’s head to another place, this shit’s making me want to vomit”. Kid ordered. “I should’ve started by setting the island on fire”. He muttered the last part for himself.

ˏ⸉ˋ‿̩͙‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ ‿̩̥̩‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˊ⸊ˎ ˏ⸉ˋ‿̩͙‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ ‿̩̥̩‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˊ⸊ˎ ˏ⸉ˋ‿̩͙‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ ‿̩̥̩‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˊ⸊ˎ ˏ⸉ˋ‿̩͙‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ ‿̩̥̩‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˊ⸊ˎ

The captain stopped in front of a door that looked like a clown’s mouth. Next to it, there was a sign:

┏━━━━━━ʕ•㉨•ʔ━━━━━━━┓

**THE HORROR SHOW**

_Right of admission*_

┗━━━━━━━ ☆ ━━━━━━━┛

“Finally, something that doesn’t look boring”. The captain said. Some people were entering. A young couple approached the door, and we followed behind.

“We’re sorry, you cannot enter this establishment”. Another person with a clown attire informed the couple.

“Ehh? Why not?”. The girl complained. “Is it because of the way we look? I’m done with your stupid rules”. The girl spat, being a little bit drunk. Their clothes were not problematic at all, tho: plain long pants and T-shirts.

“Sweetie, lower your voice, do you know whom you’re talking to?” The boy whispered to her. “S-sorry, haha, it’s the alcohol talking for her”. He scratched the back of his neck, and the clown stared at him with an everlasting smile.

“Are you going to let us in or not?” The girl spoke again. The clown pulled out a gun.

“Please, out of the establishment, right now. We don’t open our doors to the likes of you”. He pointed at them, and the boy nodded quickly, shoving his girlfriend to the exit as to avoid having their brains blown out.

I dreaded what was going to happen when our turn came, but the clown’s smile grew bigger.

“Gentlemen,”. He mimicked taking of an imaginary hat and bowed down slightly. “miss, please, go in”. He took the rope that blocked the entry off.

That felt really weird. They just let us in because we were wearing fancy stuff. Did Patty know about this? She wasn’t kidding when she warned us in the tavern, then. Would this have happened to us in Solaris if we had gone with our usual clothes? Certainly, she saved us from a bad ending.

When we entered, everything was illuminated with reddish lights. There were a stage and comfortable seats made of velvet scattered around the room. One of the clowns guided us to sit in one of them. It was long enough for Killer, Eustass, Heat and I to fit. Wire, Chum and Toba sat down on the seat next to us. Killer took off his jacket and put it on my legs. I wasn’t expecting such a gentlemanly act, but I was thankful for it.

The stage was empty, but other customers were seating and looking that way. To our left, there was another sign that said: “Freak show”. The room next to us was concealed with a red curtain, but you could see there was a huge aquarium. There was a… ¿mermaid tail? But it was anchored to the floor with a chain. A clown fully closed the curtain, directly looking at me, so I turned my gaze back to the stage. The curtains rose.

Surprise, more clowns. This was starting to be repetitive; they were everywhere. They took out a human-sized roulette. In each slot, there was something written… Knife, axe, match, glass… I didn’t like where this was going.

The pushed a dark-haired woman that seemed to be in her forties. She was crying and begging them to let her go. I didn’t want to look around, but I did. And what I feared became real; everyone was watching the show with lust and gluttony in their eyes. The desired to see those poor people suffering.

The clown threw the first knife. It didn’t touch her. He threw the second one. It got stuck next to her head. He threw the last one.

It brushed past her thigh.

People clapped as if he had done a superb magic trick. The clown picked the knife that wounded her leg and read what it said: axe. I didn’t realize I had taken Eustass’ hand due to my nervousness.

“Volunteers?” The clown offered, looking to the spectators. A few ecstatic hands rose. He chose a corpulent woman dressed in a purple dress and a white feather boa. They offered her an axe, which she took without problems.

“That’s it, I’m done, I’m not entering at any other shit show of these”. Kid said, exhausted from it. “I knew I shouldn’t have listened to that crone”.

The woman on the roulette still had her eyes closed. She had given up and had accepted her fate. It wasn’t fair. I didn’t want to witness that. The mirage of a big snake appeared from behind of the curtain, hissing at the woman. Killer grabbed my arm, scaring me.

“______, no. You cannot risk saving her”. He whispered. I swallowed and looked at the stage again. Disheartened, I made the snake hide behind the curtains, and one of the clowns chased it down. Good luck with finding it, buddy.

Swallowing with a lump in my throat was painful. The flashy woman rose the axe upon her head, ready to give her the final blow. Just when the sharp blade was going to hit her skull, a bell rang. _Ding, dong._

Carrying me to relive those bad memories, the sounds made me hide my head beneath my shaky hands, having troubles to breathe. _Ding, dong._ No…

“______?” Hey”. Kid shook me by the arms. “Say something!”.

“Captain, she’s not a potato bag”. Chum shoved him away. “Excuse the captain’s lack of sensitivity. He’s a surly knucklehead, but deep down he cares for us”. He said, and Kid responded with an offended “Hey”.

“I’m fine…” I whispered without leaving my hands from my head nor opening my eyes.

“I’ll decide that”. Chum argued. “Captain, as an apology, you’ll be moving your ass here and following my instructions”.

I heard their voices as if I was underwater.

“Alright, ______, deep breaths, copy the captain’s breathing”. Chum said, and Kid gently took my hand to put it on his chest so I could feel when he breathed in and out. I took the air in, I breathed… After a minute, I managed to breathe at the same time that Eustass did, calming myself down, but my heart still beat fast. “You’re safe now, ______, nothing about what you’re remembering is real. You’re with us”. I nodded with my hand and swallowed, letting my arms down.

“I’m sorry”. I apologized, trying to get a hold of myself and got up from the seat.

“Oh, no, no, no. Not at all, missy, you don’t have to apologize”. Toba gave me a friendly punch on the shoulder, and I smiled weakly. Despite knowing that, I couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed for showing such a weak and vulnerable side of me.

“We have to go to the casino”. I wanted to change the subject. I returned the jacket back to Killer with a small “thank you”.

“Yeah, let’s go. Every second we remain on this island just makes my thirst of blood grow”. Kid said, walking closer to me than usual, like a guardian dog. Chum didn’t lie, the captain really cared about his crew, even if he showed in a…peculiar way. The thought made me feel safe and happy.

I could count on them, and they could count on me. In my hand resonated the pledge of loyalty I pronounced for the first time in Imbir:

_« God’s my witness: ‘for my pledge, a thousand whips if it ever falls on Judas’ lips »_

* * *

***The following scene is a reference to the book “The [female] Regent” ( _La Regenta_ in Spanish). The pirates recreate a few scenes of the novel and joke about the characters.**


	13. Solaris

Exiting that horrible place, we followed the flock of people who looked like they were going to the casino. Killer insisted on that I could wear his suit jacket, but I feared the buttons of his shirt would pop away if he flexed his arms too much, so I rejected the offer. It was better if he was the one wearing it. Just in case. There were already a few people stealing glances at us, and the last thing we needed was a bodybuilding show in the middle of the road.

The exact same paper lanterns we found at the sea started to brighten up each side of the path. I looked at Killer by the corner of my eye, and he seemed to have made that association, too. People at the entrance were taking their tickets out of their luxurious purses or pockets, getting inside a few seconds after the clown validated their tickets. He returned them with two extra little holes on the left side of the ticket.

I made sure to remember that if I had to create the illusion of our golden tickets again. Our turn came, and I couldn’t help feeling the nervousness creeping in my stomach. I got behind my mates, having created the illusion of the tickets in their hands, beforehand. I focused on projecting the mirage to everyone looking, without errors, adding two more holes after the clown passed the ticket through a special machine. Everything went smoothly. Chum was the last one to enter, and now there was only my ticket left. My heart almost shot through my chest when the clown talked to me:

“Your name, miss?” I tried to act as if that didn’t scare me. I hadn’t heard him ask that to anyone else.

“______”. I answered after a few seconds as if I was trying to convince him that my name was on the list of a very special night club. “Is there any problem?”

“…Not at all. Umbra requires your presence”. He whispered something over his _den den mushi_ and returned his attention to me. Kid, Killer and the rest were standing near the entrance, waiting for me to come in, not trusting the situation. “You may go in”.

Luckily, he returned my _(“very real”)_ ticket, and I could enter without any hassles. I heard murmuring behind my back.

_“Did you hear that? That means Umbra…”_

_“I can’t believe it, that girl?”_

_“I hope it doesn’t end up like last year…”_

I was alert. What would they be talking about? I headed for where Toba was standing.

“I thought we were done for before entering”. He told me. “What was that?”

“He asked me for that name and told me that Umbra required my presence”. I answered although it sounded like a question.

“A mafia boss is flirting with you?”

“Ew, Toba!” I made my vowels longer as a sign of disgust.

 **“Don’t say that in front of the captain, you fool”,** Wire told him.

“Stop chatting and move your asses!” Kid shouted, earning a few judging stares from masked people holding champagne glasses.

“Ooh, free drinks”. Toba ran to a table full of dishes and bottles.

“And food”. Chum followed him. Wire also scurried away to get to the table. Kid breathed in.

“Do whatever the fuck you want. Killer, Heat, ______! At least I need you close”. He ordered. “We have to find those stupid games, find Umbra and kil-“. I put a hand on his mouth to prevent him from alarming the whole crowd.

“Kid, for fuck’s sake!” I whispered. “People are looking”. I showed him with a movement of my head.

“Let them look!” He pushed my hand aside and held it. He was going to say something else, probably something along the lines of “I’ll kill them, too”, but a random lady commented out loud on the scene.

“Oh, how beautiful is young people’s love, I still remember when I was so shy to show my love in public”. She rested her cheek on her palm, closing her eyes to remember her past.

“Uh? Oh, no, no, no, you’re mistaken”. I laughed awkwardly.

“Goodness, you’re not a couple? What a shame, one of the games is only for couples”. She said. Kid intruded in.

“We are. Where are those games?” Kid asked with a serious expression.

“Oh, over there”. She pointed to a door with the number four on top. “I was also going there with my husband”. The man next to her nodded shily. I used that time to curse Kid in my mind.

“Let’s go”. He took me to said place by my hand, although instead of looking like a couple, it looked as if he was arresting me and taking me to jail for committing a crime.

The room was emptier than I thought. Upon a pallet, there was an announcing clown.

◤ ◥

**1st GAME**

◣ ◢

“We’re starting with the first game! Are you good with spiciness?”. The audience shook their heads. “What a shame! Because if you want to win, you must eat a chilli pepper without drinking any liquids for a whole minute! Brave ones, go up the pallet”.

“Where’s Heat? He can eat chilli peppers without blinking”. Kid looked around and saw him already heading to the pallet.

“But only one of us can win and meet Umbra face to face, what’s the plan?” I asked, intrigued. Kid thought about it.

“If we all participate, we’ll have more chances of winning, even though only one of us makes it. Then, the winner will draw that bastard to us, and we’ll ambush him”. He decided while he was also guiding me to the pallet. Killer had also gotten up. Toba, Chum and Wire were nowhere to be found. They would be pigging out in the food section.

“Where?” I scoffed. “Everyone would know, it doesn’t look like there are any empty rooms here”. Kid also noticed that.

“… We’ll improvise on the go”. He stated nonchalantly. An alarm rang in my head. We were in enemy territory, surrounded by dozens of clowns, not knowing where the mafia boss was, and half of our team was chugging down whatever food they had. And he didn’t even have a plan?

We couldn’t keep arguing because he got chilli peppers handed out. It was the size of my palm, not very thick and a dangerous red colour.

“Time starts…”. They started an hourglass. “Now!”

I didn’t have time to react nor to mentally prepare, but thanks to our dear Eustass Kid I needn’t make up my mind, because he decided to shove the chilli pepper inside my mouth. Before I could complain, he closed my jaw and almost forced me to chew, if I hadn’t let him know I would do that voluntarily by stomping on his foot.

My tongue started to burn, and at the time of swallowing, the spiciness spread to my throat, making me cough a bit. I swallowed that devilish food whole, drying my eyes with the back of my hand. Now I felt hot, and my lips palpitated, feeling the burn on them, too.

Some of the contestants gave up, picking up a carton of milk prepared in front of them. No matter how much the thought tempted me, the captain’s punishment would be worse than one chilli pepper. Or ten.

Speaking of chilli peppers, Heat did not only look unaffected by them, but he also had stolen the box of chilli peppers and was eating them behind the curtains.

“What the- What is he doing?!” A clown caught him. “Boss, this man’s not normal…” He grabbed the flaps of the other clown’s jacket.

“Wait a minute”. He received a call from his _den den mushi_. “Yes…Yes, understood. As you wish, Umbra”. No one saw that exchange.

Killer was also calm (I couldn’t see if he lifted his mask up a bit or if he inserted the chilli pepper through one of the holes, damn it), and you couldn’t tell that Kid’s lips were red because of his lipstick. It wasn’t that spicy but eating just a chilli pepper was tough. I fanned myself with my hand while I breathed through my mouth, thinking about why I hadn’t faked eating it, but creating an illusion instead.

“And… one minute! Congratulation, the winners can go on to the next game.

“Heat, leave that”. Killer told him. The clown trembled when he was the box was empty.

“T-there were fifty-three chilli peppers there…” He brought his hands to his head.

“Sorry”. He burped, and a flare burst out of his mouth. I blinked a few times. What the-? “Oh, right, you’ve never seen me spit fire”.

“It’s normal, don’t worry”. Killer tried to not make me worry. I don’t know what normal is to those guys…

◤ ◥ 

**2nd GAME**

◣ ◢

“On the next game, you can show off your strength!” The clown announced. “You’ll be assigned random pairs, and you’ll arm-wrestle”. They brought out tables and seats to do so.

I saw a weak-looking guy had been paired with Kid. I swear I saw him crossing his fingers behind his back. Killer was also way bigger than his opponent. The scene made me laugh.

I looked at my opponent: a two-meter-tall muscular guy who didn’t look very friendly.

Karma. So, this is what those two must have felt…

We sat down, and I put my elbow on the table’s surface. Okay, I’ve been always told to not judge a book by its cover, but there were a lot of chances that I was going to lose against him. So, I would need to cheat.

When he squeezed my hand (apart from feeling how he broke four of my fingers), I created the illusion of the same snake as before jumping to my opponent’s face. He got scared and fell from the seat, making it seem as if I had won.

“H-how…?” The same clown traumatized by Heat, was now looking at me, his knees trembling. I cleared my throat and shrugged.

“A snake attacked me! That’s not fair!” He complained, and people laughed.

“A snake? What is he talking about?” Some ladies covered their smiles with their fans. “We haven’t seen anything”.

Kid, who had won in less than a second, smiled upon hearing that, working out what had happened. He looked at me, and I returned the smile, winking at him. I was waiting for a cocky response, but he turned his gaze away from me and crossed his arms.

◤ ◥

**3rd GAME**

◣ ◢

“Alright, alright! This game is only for those lovebirds. Sorry, bachelors”. He jested to the audience. “This is the penultimate round, so buck your seatbelts, ‘cause here it comes!” A drumroll sounded. “The Pocky game! Couples versus couples! Only two winning couples will be chosen for the last game!”.

“The rules are simple”. Another clown continued. “Each person will put one end of the stick in their mouths, and their partner will do the same with the other end. You must bite until only a small piece of the cookie is left. If there is no remaining piece, you’re disqualified”.

I must have heard wrong. Okay, this was for couples, but wasn’t this too…intimate for a game? I began thinking of ways to cheat.

“Okay, no problem, I can make them see a smaller piece of the cookie than what it really is-“. Kid interrupted me.

“Don’t let it fall”. Without time to process the information, he put the chocolate stick on my mouth and started to bite from the other end. I closed my eyes without thinking, but he quickly separated from me, holding a little piece of cookie on his palm.

“Wow, 0,6 centimetres!” A clown measured it. “New winners on the podium”. Another clown wrote the measurement on a whiteboard, next to other results such as “0,9 cm, “1,4 cm”, etc.

“We said this game is only for couples”. One of the clowns warned Heat and Killer.

“Who says we’re not a couple? Are you discriminating us?” Heat said, and the clown’s expression changed.

“O-oh, sorry, I thought…”

“I don’t your apologies, I want to talk to your manager”. While Heat was pulling his leg, Killer grabbed a chocolate stick and broke a small piece. I was surprised no one else saw it, but they were too busy watching the drama between Heat and the clown.

“Let it be, let’s get on with the game”. Killer said to Heat. They turned around dramatically, hiding their faces from the audience, making it seem as if they were realizing the challenge. Killer gave the clown the piece of the stick he had already prepared. I wish I could have caught that on film.

“0,8 centimetres…” He announced and they wrote it on the whiteboard, just behind our 0,6. “That means these two couples are the winners!”. He pointed at us with a stretched arm, and people clapped while the other couples got down the pallet, crestfallen.

“What’s the last game? I want to win already; I haven’t got all day”. Kid said while tapping his foot on the floor, impatiently.

“Y-yes, sir, follow me”. The clown that didn’t stop trembling guided us through a hallway where no people were roaming around. The area now was empty and silent. Heat, Killer, Eustass and I inspected the place. It looked safer to ambush Umbra now. I looked at Eustass and sighed. I wish we had a plan… Suddenly, Killer spoke. I hope he does have a plan.

“I forgot; I have an important matter to deal with. Sorry, I won’t be participating in the last game”. Killer said out loud for the clown to hear.

“Oh, no problem, sir. You may leave”. The blond nodded and brushed past Kid, whispering:

“I’ll notify the rest that the ambush is on the doorstep”. The redhead nodded.

But no one heard the words the clown muttered to himself and the smile that followed them:

“Less work for me…”

A few more steps and the clown opened a door.

“Please, over here”.

Heat entered the first one. I followed him. Lastly, Eustass. The room looked like a ballroom. It was empty, save for a few knights stands in line. A chandelier reflected on the marble floor, and some tall red curtains were half-open near the end of the room, but without a stage.

“What’s the damned game?” Eustass repeated.

“There’s no game”.

“The fuck did you say?” Eustass growled, clenching his fists.

“Umbra has ordered to see you, personally”. The clown smiled and closed the door. I frowned.

◤ ◥

**4̵͇̥͖͇̝͙̩̳̈̐̎̀͝t̶̛̜͎̻̭̻͖̼̂́͑́͑̓͋͘͝h̴̨͎̠̠̹͛͐͛̌ ̷̢̼̊͜ ̸͔͖͖̪̓̊̓͑̉̀͌͂̕͠Ģ̸̳͎̰̫̳̟͚̲̺̅̃̐͋̇͠A̷̹̘̹̙͗̈́̇͂̀Ṁ̷̧̯͕̥̄̉̿̾̎̊Ę̴͈̭͉̟̫͕̜̍͝**

◣ ◢

Suddenly, the lights went off. There was only darkness. I couldn’t make out any light nor shape, and in no time, I couldn’t even differentiate from having my eyes closed or opened.

_We had been ambushed ourselves._

__


	14. Chiming Bells

I don’t know when the light came back. I also didn’t know if I had been unconscious since the start.

“What a surprise… It’s the first time my first choice has won all the games”.

A woman with hair as black as the night was filing her nails, sitting on a grey armchair in a way that seemed quite uncomfortable. Her short hair was past her ears, but it didn’t reach her shoulders, which were exposed. She wore a black and tight party dress. Everything she had on was black, a fact that accentuated her pale skin colour. A skin so pallid one could envisage her blue veins as if she was made from translucid glass.

I blinked a few times. I realized I was also sitting on an armchair. I scanned the room in search of Heat or Kid, but there was no one else. Just her and me. I noticed that the room was not entirely lit. A small side of the room was left in complete darkness as if there was a complete void there.

“Uhm… Who are you?” I asked, confusion visible in my voice. The woman laughed.

“Umbra, of course”. She gave me a feline smirk. I opened my eyes wide open in surprise. “You don’t need to introduce yourself; I already know you, ______. As I was saying, I’m glad you won the game; I didn’t need to order the guards to bring you here by force”. She blew air on her nails and stretched the arm away to observe the final result.

Her behaviour was too calm. She was Umbra? The mafia boss? And now I was in front of her, alone, and not knowing why she wanted to see me that bad. I hope she didn’t know it was our fault that one of her ships never returned to the harbour with its original crew.

“Where are… the other winners?” I asked carefully. Umbra smiled and bent over to my armchair, holding on to the armrests with her hands. She reminded me of a snake when it lifts its head, ready to jump on to its prey.

“Don’t worry about them”. She got up, approaching me. She took a strand of my hair and twirled it in her fingers while she circled the armchair I was sitting on. “They’re not going to bother us; my henchmen are taking care of them”. She said with a raspy voice. “The only winner here is you”.

I gulped. Knowing Kid, he would have beaten up all the clowns that he had encountered. But I didn’t hear anything. Nor his screams, nor the screams of his victims. Absolute silence. That made me more nervous.

“Why me?” I asked with genuine curiosity.

“Why you?” I didn’t know if she was mocking me or not. “Because you…” She traced her index finger threateningly from my sternum up to my chin with her black painted nails. “…are my type”.

…What?

Suddenly, Umbra lost her menacing aura. She covered her face with both hands while she squealed.

“Aah~ I’ve said, I’ve said it!” She turned around to not look at my face. Good, because my face could be read as: “What the fuck”.

“S-sorry, I don’t think I have heard you correctly”. I wanted to make sure my hearing was still working.

“Skip the formalities”. She turned around. “And you’ve heard me! I’m marrying you!”

I blinked again. No, I would definitely need to tell Chum to check my hearing. I must be getting old.

“M-marry…me?” I repeated, not sure at all.

“Exactly!” She flopped onto the armchair. Her armchair? Oh, no, on mine. She was laying on my lap, the back of her hand in front of her forehead in a dramatic manner. “I’ve spent six long years searching for the love of my life in every sea possible! I even send ships to search for beautiful damsels in other islands, but still, nothing. And just when I thought I had found the perfect one…“. She got up, turning her back on me, and let out a sinister laugh. “the fool thought she could reject me”.

She turned around and got closer, but I stood still.

“I don’t want to marry you!” She mimicked, with a higher-pitched voice, what the last girl must have said. “How dare she! Am I right?” She put a hand on her chest, like a victim. “I’ve done so much for this stupid town, and that’s how she repaid me?” Her offended expression changed for a smiling one. “So, I killed her”. She lifted her eyebrows.

The memory must have been funny to her because she kept explaining.

“Well, I didn’t kill her personally, I would rather not do the dirty work. I sent her with the rest of ungrateful swines that dared to contradict me: The Horror Show”.

The mention of that name made my bile run up my throat.

“But I’ve got a good hunch with you”. She started to behave normally again, her voice and expression happy. “You’re not going to reject me, are you? No…” She answered for herself. “Especially because you wouldn’t want anything to happen to your little boyfriend”.

She snapped her fingers, and that void in the room lit up, revealing a tied-up Eustass. I wanted to scream his name, but he was unconscious. Or so it seemed.

“Oh, don’t worry, he’s only sleeping”. She showed me a small bottle containing a blueish liquid. “I gave him a bit of this when… you know”. She snapped her fingers, and the light disappeared, just as before. She snapped them again, and the light returned.

So that was her power. She could leave any place, be it a room or a whole island, without light. And she could give it back, too. That’s how she faked saving the town, becoming their goddess?

“Although I have to be honest, I was kind of sad that you already had a partner”.

“He’s not my partner”. I interrupted her.

“They saw you together on the couple game. Don’t try to fool me”. She warned me. “Anyway, it’s not like it matters anymore. I’ll get rid of him soon."

I took in a deep breath. Her words made my blood boil. I dreaded having to fight her on my own; without light, there were no mirages. If darkness loomed over, I was done for. I hoped Killer, Heat, and the rest were fine. I looked at Eustass. I had to think of a plan on my own, but how could I let the others know?

I almost hit myself for being so stupid. I was too focused on visual mirages I forgot the rest of the senses: taste, smell, touch, hearing… I managed to make my mirages have voices before, so I thought I could make Kid hear “my voice” without letting Umbra know.

“ _Kid? Can you hear me?”._

Nothing. His eyelids trembled a bit, but he still looked unconscious, due to the liquid Umbra had shown me. I decided to gain a bit more time while I planned something.

“Uhm… so, when’s the wedding?” I don’t know if that was the best question, to be honest. But at least Umbra seemed to relax.

“I knew you were as excited as I was! I didn’t make a mistake choosing you”. She winked at me. “You caught my eye since I saw you at the carnival”.

“You were at the carnival?” I slightly frowned.

“In disguise. I can’t let people see me wandering about, but I like to go out from time to time. That’s why, when I saw you, I ordered my henchmen to send you a golden ticket to enter and rig the games so you would win”. She paused. “But, mysteriously, that wasn’t necessary. You already had a ticket, and you won all the games…”. Her eyes were half-lid.

Shit, was she suspicious of me?

“It must be fate!” She behaved normally again. Those humour changes were making me nervous. “It’s like you had also wanted to find me”. She stated. Technically, yes. But not for the same reasons she believed…

Kid still had his eyes closed. At that moment, I felt like I could not think clearly; I didn’t know what to do. What consequences could my actions have now? I could only risk it.

“If I marry you… Will you let my friends leave without troubles?” I looked her in the eye. Umbra’s smile didn’t leave her face while she thought about it.

“I would gladly do so. But would they leave without you?” She arched an eyebrow. That made my eyes wide open once again. “In fact, now that you mention it, it would be dangerous to keep them alive…” My breathing sped up, and I frowned. “I’ll start with him”. She turned to stare at Kid, who was unmoving.

Right after seeing how she took one of the swords that the knights were carrying, I rushed in front of Eustass, acting as a shield. She was also quick, and I felt the blade brush my side. But the pain didn’t keep going.

“What the hell? I can’t…control…” Umbra could hardly say, as she was trying to hold onto the sword. But a strong force pulled it out of her grip. A magnetic force. I separated a bit from Kid to see he had his eyes open, a blood-thirsty smile, and the sword in his hands.

“I was getting tired of faking I was unconscious”. Kid said with a scornful look, letting us know he had been awake right from the start.

“How is that possible? This bottle could make a wolf sleep!” Alright, that was probably where here plan failed, since you would probably need more tranquilizers than for an elephant to make Kid fall asleep.

I walked back, leaving him space to get up, and now a bit embarrassed about the dramatism of acting as a human shield for him.

“Who do you think I am? You didn’t even bother to use seastone chains. Although I guess it was for the best”. Kid threw the sword to the floor, preferring to fight with his fists.

“You… I’ll kill you!” She said with an enraged expression. Kid tried to hit her, but she was agile and evaded his punches with ease. “How dare you fool me?” She lunged at me. I grabbed the dagger hidden on my thigh, and I defended myself, surprising her.

A turmoil of voices screaming “fire” from the entrance of the casino made an addition to the confusion that began to grow in the leader’s pupils.

“That must be Heat”. Kid calmly said.

“Who… Who the fuck are you?” Her face was deformed by rage. I tried to evade her precise blows with little to no success, but an effective cut on the palm of her hand stopped her.

“The Kid Pirates”. Eustass answered, walking towards her with a steady step. “I’m sure you now must regret sending one of your stupid ships searching for someone who wanted to marry you”. He spat those words mockingly. “You shouldn’t have messed with us”. He grabbed her by the neck and lifted her a few inches from the floor. He lowered his voice, threateningly. “You shouldn’t have messed with my crew. This is my revenge for trying to take one of my crewmates away”.

“S-so, you were responsible for that ship…” I don’t know how Umbra was still able to talk, having in mind Kid was choking her.

The ballroom's door opened, revealing the troublemakers that caused that uproar in Solaris: Heat, Killer, Wire, Toba, and Chum. As always, Toba interrupted the serious scene:

“We’re here! Oops, looks like you guys have everything under control”. He noticed Umbra’s body, which was barely breathing. But she smiled.

“You thought…” She murmured and snapped her fingers.

The darkness filled the room. Oh, no.

“Fuck!” Kid screamed.

“Kid!” Killer was alarmed. “That bitch got away… Get out of here! Don’t stay in the darkness; she can control light”.

A mocking laugh was heard from the end of the room. Umbra.

Everyone followed the captain’s order, and he was left alone with her. It was payback time.

»»——————————⍟———————————««

“Sacrificing yourself for you little friends? How adorable”. Umbra mocked him.

“You still don’t know who you’re dealing with, you perverted lonely scum”. The redhead replied. The last comment made her mad. She snapped her fingers again and the light returned.

“What the fuck? I told you to leave!” Kid shouted at ______, who was between Kid and Umbra. What was she doing there?

“Huh, I guess you’ll both die together then”. Umbra now had two guns, one in each hand. “Bye, bye~”

Kid could dodge the first bullet, but the second one hit ______ in the stomach, creating a red stain on her dress. ______'s body tumbled, and she kneeled down.

“______!” Kid’s scream was piercing, but it didn’t make ______ turn her head even though he was by her side, watching as the blood fell. She had never heard Kid so mad. “I’m going to burn this fucking building with you in it, you hear me?” He threatened the woman that was now holding just one gun. She left the other one hanging from the hand of one of the knight stands.

“I’m so scared”. She answered sarcastically. “Now, it’s your turn”. She aimed at Eustass’ head.

Then, a gunshot.

Umbra fell on the floor, a puddle of blood emanating from her head. Her open and soulless eyes were looking straight at the gun in her hand. No signs of being fired.

Kid looked to the side where the bullet should’ve come from, expecting to see another enemy or even the crone from the brothel. He almost fell to his knees when he saw ______, who had been hiding behind the curtains, holding the gun the mafia boss had forsaken instants before.

“How…?” Kid turned his head to the side. But instead of seeing ______'s wounded body, there was nothing. Not even a drop of blood on the floor. Which meant…

»»——————————⍟———————————««

My arms were trembling, but I did it. I had shot Umbra. I lowered the gun, slowly, crouching down at the same time to leave it carefully on the floor, worried it might have shot again if I had thrown it to the floor.

The natural light from dusk flew through the windows now that Umbra was dead. No more artificial darkness.

I turned around to see Kid, who was staring at me with a mix of hatred for making him believe I had been shot and relief after seeing I was safe and sound. He started to walk towards me, and I bit my lip, waiting for the worst.

However, he did not shout at me nor hit me for being so reckless. His arms embraced me with warmth. I was so shocked I didn’t react after a seconds later, returning him the hug. I could feel his heart beating fast, and I wondered if he could hear mine.

The chiming of bells that announced the arrival of morning echoed through the town, but I didn’t feel fear. I almost didn’t hear them. Because now I knew I was safe.


	15. Curiosity killed the cat

The ballroom’s doors were suddenly wide open. As if we had been caught red-handed, Eustass and I quickly moved away from each other. Once again, it was Toba:

“Captain! The light’s back, does that mean you got rid of her?” He asked, excited.

“The little brat is the one who did it”. He ruffled my hair like a child. “Did you guys not see ______ was not following you?” He said, somewhat angry.

“Ehm, well, yeah. The thing is she told us to trust her and that we should not follow her, so…” Toba justified. Kid looked at me and then turned to look at Toba again.

“I didn’t hear anything”.

“I made them hear my voice with an auditive illusion. Everyone except you”. I explained. “I took the opportunity when it was dark to hide behind the curtains to attack Umbra by surprise, and I created a mirage of me as a distraction”. I bit the inside of my cheek, remembering what had happened instants before.

“Was it necessary to make me believe you were dead?” He was still mad about it.

“I’m sorry, I thought…”

“You thought what? You thought of disobeying my orders and risking your life?” He rose his voice.

“You also intended to risk your life being alone”. I answered him, slightly bothered by his hypocrisy.

“Nothing would have happened to me”.

“You didn’t have a plan”. I exclaimed.

“Everything was under control”.

“It wasn’t! What if she had shot you when you couldn’t see shit? Could you have dodged the bullet so easily?” Kid was shocked by that, but he pretended to be calm.

Toba interrupted us.

“I wouldn’t want to meddle in your newlywed’s arguments, but Heat’s fire has gotten out of hand, and everything’s burning; we should get the fuck out of here”. He leaned on the door.

“I am the captain, and you will follow my orders”. He looked at me, menacingly, making me feel small. I scoffed. I wanted to stay silent, but Eustass pride was so big it must have slipped into my head a bit.

“You only give orders because you’re unable to accept people helping you”. I said. Eustass must have felt like if I had just stabbed him, seeing his expression. “What are you afraid of?” I confronted him rhetorically with a serious look. The captain did not answer and didn’t have any intentions to do so.

Toba brought a hand to his mouth, hiding his panicked face.

“Why the fuck are they still there?” Killer’s voice appeared behind Toba.

I stopped fighting for the control of the situation when my pupils left those of Eustass to look at the door. I sighed and headed for the door, the sound of my boots creating a fast rhythm on the floor among the sizzling fire.

The captain only started to march when I had disappeared out of his visual camp. I knew he was very angry when no one tried to talk to him. Not even when we exited the casino.

Or what was left of it, since the majority was falling, only leaving debris. Mostly, the ceiling and the walls. The pillars, made of marble, were still erect. I dodged a few clowns in tuxedos laying on the floor, and some civilians that didn’t have time to escape.

Our entire crew was waiting for us outside (I supposed since I couldn’t have told you if someone was missing), next to Patty and her workers. Walking away from Solaris, I got to know that Patty and the rest were the ones who helped Heat escape when he had been captured by Umbra, and then helped Killer and the others to fight with the henchmen. When Killer warned Wire, Chum and Toba to get ready, the doctor used his own _den den mushi_ (I didn’t know he had one) to notify the rest of the groups of the crew scattered around the island. I was surprised at the speed at which they had come, just in time.

Entering the city again, we saw a few persons who had previously run out of the casino, watching the sky.

“I-It’s day-time? Darling, look, it’s the sun”. A lady I recognised as the woman who told us where the games were told her husband. More people around couldn’t believe their eyes.

The Kid Pirates weren’t the type to give explanations nor act like heroes, so they clearly ignored those persons and kept on walking to the ship. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Patty standing on a trash can to catch everyone’s attention. She started to explain Umbra’s true nature and how they had been tricked. Maybe she explained a bit too much when she shared her distress at not being able to hang her head in her brothel, for the corpse had burned.

“What will we do now?” A voice said.

“Aren’t you going to help us?” A man tried to get some of the pirates’ attention. He was so unlucky he grabbed Eustass’ arm. He knew he had committed a mistake when his face turned around to look at him as if he was nothing more than a cockroach to him.

“Why would I have to help a bunch of rats in their rathole?” He said slowly, every word piercing that man’s heart. Eustass wanted to grab his gun, realizing he was still wearing the suit and no weapon around. That made him angrier, and he kicked the man, sending him to fly against a wall.

Without any sign of empathy, he continued his way.

“Did you get the necessary supplies? The next voyage will be long”. He asked to no one in particular.

“Yes, captain”. A sailor answered. “Everything’s in the ship”.

“Great. Heat”. He called him. “Burn this fucking island down”.

The bluette nodded, opening his mouth so wide it transported me to the uncanny valley. The flames licked the streets and houses, quickly spreading around. People started to run, screaming, realizing they were in the presence of actual pirates. Some tried to save some valuable objects of their homes, others were leaving their homes, warning the rest of the danger.

The screams made us company until we reached the ship, where the captain ordered to shoot the cannons in direction to the city as a final blow. Luckily, Patty and the rest weren’t left behind and also reached “their ship”. I didn’t want to see any more destruction, so I went to the cellar, to at least take off this stupid party dress and fake that everything was fine.

A white spot appeared in my vision half an hour later. I looked at the door.

“Why are you still wearing that suit?” I asked Killer.

“Why is the captain acting as if he was going to bite someone’s head off?” I rolled my eyes.

“Why should I know the answer?”

“Why shouldn’t you?”

“Why are you answering my questions with more questions?”

Killer sighed and sat on a barrel. It reminded me of the first day that… Well. The first day. It surprised me that nothing changed much between the two situations. I still felt I was being questioned by Killer’s invisible stare and that he already knew the answers.

“Am I going to make you talk by force?” He threatened me, which took me by surprise, and I leaned my torso back a bit in response.

“Why can’t you make your captain talk by force?” I answered with a low voice, not looking at him.

“It’s easier to make you talk. Want to see?” He was getting up, so, not losing time, I lifted both hands to stop him.

“No, no, no need”. I cleared my throat.

I gulped and breathed in deeply. I looked at him a few seconds and shrugged, not wanting to talk, but being forced to it.

“I guess he didn’t like me disobeying his orders…” I looked at him, and he nodded.

“Go on”.

“…that I made him believe I had been shot”. I tried to say it faster as if it would make it less important.

“Anything else?”

“…I think I have offended him by telling him he only gives orders because he can’t accept help from others and that he was scared of something”. I turned my gaze away from him. Killer let out a thoughtful hum.

“You should go and apologize”.

“Excuse me?” I almost laughed. “I’ve only told the truth!” I crossed my arms.

“Yes, but if you think you can win the captain in a pride contest”. He got so close his mask almost hit me in the forehead. “you’re very wrong”.

“I don’t care. It’s not like I expected an apology from him”. I sighed and saw his necktie was loose. “Who the fuck dressed you?” I tied it better around his shirt’s collar. He stood still a few seconds before he straightened up.

“It must have gotten messed up during the fight. Anyway, if you are not going to try and calm him down, don’t you think about upsetting him more. No one gets away when he’s in a bad mood”. He headed for the door, and I only nodded, not wanting to answer verbally.

When the door closed, it acted as the starting shot for my thoughts to go wild and start running for an unreachable goal.

Apologizing to Eustass? Really? I had already said sorry for acting so reckless and for having to see that mirage. But everything had gone fine! I was scared that, if Umbra had seen Eustass alone, she would have lunged for him, making it more difficult for me to attack her by surprise. In my mind, the fact that I was “still in the room” was the perfect distraction; she wouldn’t have risked it to lunge for us two since she would have been in a disadvantage. So, lucky me, she stood in place and decided to attack from afar, allowing me to steal her gun and shoot her.

I admit it, I could have striven to make my mirage dodge the bullet, okay. But I think I speak for everyone when I say that it’s not easy to focus when your captain’s life and your own are in your hands, and I wasn’t going to risk the mirage breaking in half or starting to move like a limp marionette to dodge a bullet. It was easier to take the bullet and make a bit of blood appear.

And, in the end, I had saved his ass. Did he thank me? No. The great Eustass Kid showing gratitude? What a joke.

When I saved Toba’s ass it was the same. As if my efforts meant nothing to them. It looked like the redhead couldn’t accept anybody’s help. I was really curious as to the question I asked him. What was he afraid of? Of being in debt with someone? Of looking weak?

My stomach growled. I regretted not having eaten anything in the casino before everything burnt down because I didn’t feel like going to the mess hall at all. The only thing I ate was that bit of cookie stick… I opened my eyes involuntarily. Great, now it was the perfect moment to remember how close Eustass lips had been. It’s not the time to blush, ______!

But I had to admit it surprised me when he hugged after killing Umbra. It felt good to feel as if someone cared for you for a moment… I had forgotten that feeling.

But, having in mind it was Eustass we were talking about, the feeling didn’t last long. Stupid stubborn red-haired ball.

I laid in my hammock, shoving the idea of me also being too stubborn away. I decided I would meditate about that the next day. Or the next week. We would see.

I woke up naturally when there was no light leaking in the room through the bottom of the door, letting me know it was already night. All those sudden changes in the light must have fucked up my biological clock. I was going to turn around to keep sleeping when I saw a tray of food next to the door. I smiled unconsciously, imagining it must have been Toba. I got up to get it. I was hungry.

“It’s weird that he didn’t wake me up”. I bit a slice of bread. It was hard (God knows how many hours it had been sitting there), but beggars can’t be choosers.

When I finished, I left the tray beneath the hammock. I laid down although I wasn’t sleepy. Before falling into Morpheus’ embrace, a lost thought made its way to my mind: I wondered how many time I had left until the captain asked me for the next island, now that there would be no fog when we exited Apricus’ territory.

That night, I had a nightmare in Fatamorgana. I didn’t know if I didn’t remember, or I was lying to myself, not wanting to think about it.

»»—————————⍟——————————««

Sadly, I couldn’t keep hibernating in my hammock. Earlier than later, I had to go out to perform my daily tasks such as cleaning and cooking. Luckily, the captain didn’t eat in the mess hall with everyone. He probably was taking care of machines in his workshop or simply avoiding me.

The ambience felt heavy as if Kid’s bad aura spread around the ship. You could tell it was more silent than usual. I imagined it was because the noise must have been a reason to upset him more, and they had learned the lesson.

Now, I was doing the dishes next to Killer and Nat. Seen from afar, it looked like a painting. A painting called: Awkwardness.

To my left, Killer, probably thinking about how stubborn I was for not wanting to apologize to the captain. To my right, Nat, the guy I beat up the betting night. In the middle, me, an unlucky dumbass.

Killer was washing the dishes with a sponge, he passed them to me, and I rinsed them and, lastly, I passed them to Nat, who dried them and left them on a pile. The awkward silence was broken by the last one:

“Hey, why don’t you apologize to the captain already and do us a favour?” He said with a monotone voice. I passed him another plate.

“There’s nothing to apologize for”. I simply said.

“Doesn’t matter. Make up something, but I’m tired of leaving in fear of my captain deciding to rip my arms off”. He exaggerated. Or so I wanted to believe. I sighed, no intentions of pleasing him.

“Nat, you can leave, we’ll finish the rest”. Killer said.

“Eh? You sure?” He left one more plate. “Alright”. He walked away. “See you tomorrow”. He stretched while exiting through the door.

Not saying a thing, I kept rinsing, drying and leaving the plates on a new pile, fearing the first one would fall due to its height. Killer kept handing me plates nonstop, trying to tick me off.

I tried to keep up the rhythm, but when I was going to take a new plate, my hand touched his by mistake. The slight surprise made us both drop the plate. Lucky for us, it fell in the sink and didn’t break. It was the last thing I needed.

“Sorry”. I faked a cough and took the plate.

“No, I was distracted. Don’t worry”. He answered, not giving importance to the matter. If only Kid was as reasonable as Killer, I thought.

“Thinking again?” I asked whatever to fill the awkward silence.

“Yeah”.

I nodded. I waited a bit, but he didn’t say anything more.

“And… What are you thinking of?” I was starting to get curious. Maybe he was an aspiring philosopher? Mmm… For some reason, I couldn’t imagine him asking himself existential questions while looking at the sky on the deck.

He didn’t answer. He washed the last plate and gave it to me. I rinsed it, dried it and left it aside. He took two glasses out of the pile of the tableware and poured water in them. He offered me one of the glasses and sat on the table.

“We just cleaned that…” I muttered, but I took the drink and sat in front of him,

Why do I feel like I’m in trouble? He’s going to start lecturing me, isn’t he? I sipped from the glass and left it on the table. If I had to start running, I would be hydrated, and I wouldn’t have to worry about not spilling the water. Just when I was going to ask him again, he spoke.

“Nothing of importance. At least not now”.

He left his glass on the table. I wondered why he got a glass if he couldn’t drink without a straw. Oh. I got up to get one of the straws Killer used from the drawer. I thought it was pretty cute how they weren’t made of plastic because he didn’t want to pollute; his straws were made of bamboo.

“Here”. I put the straw in his glass and sat again. “Are you sure?” I returned to the previous subject. “I may not be the most appropriate person to talk about it in this ship, but… If something is worrying you, you can tell me”. I smiled. Although I couldn’t see his face, I could tell he smiled back.

“It’s getting harder every time”. He drank the contents of his glass and got up. “Wash that when you’re finished”. He said with a mocking tone.

“Yes, sir”. I tried not to scoff. Killer brushed past my side and dropped something in my drink. “What are y-?”

I shut up immediately after seeing what was in the bottom of my glass.

It was my ring.

The ring I had thrown out of the window in the Red Fox tavern while performing my hoax. I got up the table, exalted, and I turned around to look at Killer, who was already closing the door as if nothing had happened.

He left.

I looked at the glass again. I threw the water down the drain and took my ring.

He knew I had been lying right from the start.

He had known all this time. My heart was beating faster than ever, and my throat was dry. But then, why didn’t he inform the others?

I brought a hand to my forehead, trying to ease the pain with the cold of my palm. It was quickly replaced by warmth.

I felt I had walked inside the wolf’s mouth at my own sweet will. Did that mean I had never been safe? At any moment they could have told me I was bluffing. And now Killer knew it… No, he already knew. He had always known and didn’t say anything, why? I felt a knot in my throat due to my nervousness, and I covered my face with both hands.

I breathed deep in.

I put on the ring on my middle finger and washed the glasses, faking calmness. I would keep the ring in my bag, later. Or maybe it would be better to throw it to the ocean and get rid of it… Although I don’t think anyone else paid attention to that detail except Killer. But it was also proof if he decided to tell on me… Whatever. With or without proof they would believe Killer. I would keep the ring, what difference does it make?

I stayed a while longer in the kitchen, leaning against the countertop, pinching my lip nervously. I felt that, if I went out, everyone would be waiting for me, looking at me, knowing I had lied to them.

I didn’t want to go out… Luckily, we had already had dinner, and nobody should enter again…

I think I’m sleeping in the mess hall tonight.


	16. King of Liars, Noland

“___, what the fuck are you doing? First, you sleep like a log in the cellar and now in the mess hall?” Toba’s voice brought me out of my sleep. When I opened my eyes, the memories from the evening before invaded my mind and I fell from the bench I used as a bed, my heart almost in my throat.

 **“Are you okay?”,** Wire asked me.

“Yeah, just fell on my butt…” I got up, and I shook off the barely existent dust from my clothes.

“I think he meant it for your face. It looked like you had seen a ghost when you woke up”. Toba laughed. “Did you have a nightmare?”

“Something like that…” I answered simply and went to prepare breakfast with Heat when I remembered something. “Oh, and good morning”. I awkwardly laughed and entered the kitchen.

“Why were you sleeping here?” Heat asked me while he grabbed some pans.

“Uhm… I must have fallen asleep while I was resting after washing the dishes”.

After cooking a morbid quantity of fried eggs and bacon, each one served himself a portion on their plates. I even had the energy (don’t where it came from) to squeeze out some orange juice. Only for the ones of my table, tho, I didn’t have that much energy to squash oranges for more than thirty people that early in the morning.

I served the glasses to each of them: Chum, Toba, Heat and Wire. I sat down and I enjoyed the sweet liquid in my palate.

“Oh, Toba, thank you for yesterday’s tray”. I said a bit embarrassed, but grateful for it.

“Tray? What tray?”

“Eh? Weren’t you the one who left a tray of food in front of my door?”

“Nope, wasn’t me”. He said with his mouth full. I looked at the rest of the boys, but they shook their heads.

“Oh… Alright, then”. I kept eating, wondering who would have left that there. Oh, god, what if it was poisoned? Of course, it must have been Killer; he had poisoned my food and, knowing I would die because of the poison, he let me know he knew my secret.

The only problem was that I was still alive.

… Maybe he made a mistake calculating?

“Maybe it was Killer?” I asked, wanting to corroborate my theory.

“Nah, he was with me all the time”. Heat swallowed a piece of meat. I nodded and decided to give up on my detective work. I hadn’t been born for that. Unlike certain blondie.

“In no time we’ll finally get away from this goddamned mist, finally. I needed some sun”. Chum said. “Fatamorgana is a warm island, isn’t it?”.

I don’t know if it was my paranoia (spoiler: it was), but I felt he was testing me. Did he know? Did Killer tell everyone?

“Y-yeah, it is”. I smiled politely.

“Are you sure you’re alright? You’re acting weird”, Wire said.

If they wanted to play detective so much, I don’t know what they were doing on a pirate ship. I tried not to show nervousness, and I let them know I was fine. Maybe it was because I had slept on a hard plank (which wasn’t necessarily a lie). When I had the opportunity, I got up and left the mess hall.

What would my plan be now? Maybe I should stick from my plan from the start, steal a boat and escape. I would give up all hope, I would live again alone, like a hermit and I would wait for the maggots to eat my rotting body.

“You”.

“Aah!” I screamed when I met face to face with the captain right after exiting the mess hall. It’s been years since I screamed like that, damn. Goodbye, dignity. I brought a hand to my mouth too late.

The captain gave me a weird look as if wondering what had scared me that much. He seemed to ignore it.

“Come to my cabin, we have to plan the arrival to Fatamorgana”. He announced and started to walk towards his room.

I stayed still, shocked.

“What are you waiting for?!” He shouted at me from afar.

“I-I’m coming!” I sprinted a bit to reach him. My knees were shaking. I was sure that was a trap to reveal to me that Killer had told him his suspicions about me, that he had proof against me and now was going to kill me as he did with the mapmaker. Rest in peace.

He closed the cabin’s door behind me, and I crossed myself mentally. He went to sit on his armchair, and I saw that there was another chair in front of his for me.

“Sit down”. When I did so, he threw my bag at me. How kind, he bothered to have it ready for- Lies! He must have taken it to search for the ring Killer returned to me, thinking I had hidden it in the bag. Joke’s on you because I was shamelessly wearing it and the only thing in my bag were my tarot gadgets, money and clothes.

Shit, did he see my underwear? Ugh, alright, I hope he hadn’t actually rummaged through it, and I was just being paranoid.

I took the crystal ball out and got ready. Okay, no problem, I knew the ordeals we had to go through to get to Fatamorgana and what waited for us there.

After explaining everything, Eustass had written a list that looked more or less like this:

Spiky defile

Ugly bird jungle

Waterfalls

Stone door

Treasure

Decorated with some other doodle on the paper. I explained to him grosso modo (except the first one which he already knew): when entering the island we would need to cross through a trail in the jungle where violent birds lived; then, we would encounter with lots of rivers and waterfalls we would need to follow to find the stone door. Supposedly, opening that door, we would find the room where the treasure was hidden.

Fearing his rage, I decided to avoid saying “I think”, “Theoretically” and any other suppositions, faking everything was clear as I told him.

Kid laid back on his seat, both hands together in front of his mouth, thoughtful. I took the opportunity to look around his desk. It was more organized than I imagined. I noticed a small book in the corner. It was upside down, but I could read the title: “Liar Noland”.

How appropriate.

I read it was a popular tale in the North Blue, but Kid didn’t look like that was his hometown. His clothes told me he came from the South Blue, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

“May I?” I almost whispered, referring to the book. Kid looked at me and let out a grunt I interpreted as a “Yeah”. If that wasn’t a yes, he should’ve spoken.

I took the book and leafed through it. Those were Mont Blanc Noland’s stories. Everyone in Imbir said every word that came out of Noland’s mouth was a lie, that we shouldn’t believe his stories. I never read the book, but some tales reached my ears upon hearing them by storytellers in the street. I smiled at the memory.

“What’s so funny?” Kid was looking at me with a hand on his cheek and a frown. I almost drop the book in surprise.

“I was just remembering something”. I decided to explain more so he wouldn’t throw me over the railing. “When I was little, my grandpa reminded me of Noland. Everyone in the town thought he was a liar because of his crazy stories, just like Noland”.

Kid took the books from my hands, and he started to leaf through it, looking at the illustrations.

“What kind of stories did your grandfather tell?”

I was going to tell him about his stories on Fatamorgana, but I stopped. If I told him that, he would suspect more that I had lied and that I didn’t have any seer powers. But… They already knew that Bonaventura was my grandfather, and they knew he came from Fatamorgana. They should have linked the pieces together. Unless…

“Did my grandfather tell you where he was coming from when you picked him up from the sea?” I ventured to ask, hoping he wouldn’t mind me not immediately answering his question.

“Yeah, they came from Fatamorgana. When I asked them, the traitorous rat told me he didn’t remember anything from that journey. When I asked the same thing to your grandfather, he answered the same. What about it?”

Jackpot. There were no reasons to suspect, then. Of course, if that man part of my grandpa’s crew had been part of Kid’s crew, they could have used him as a guide to reach Fatamorgana. But they didn’t, they didn’t for a reason: “they did not remember”. It was obvious my grandfather had lied since he told me every story about it when he got home. But they did not know that.

“I suddenly got curious”. I shook my head as to tell him it was not important. “He also spoke about islands in the sky, and he fervently believed in the existence of the One Piece”. I said smiling, as if I remembered it with fondness, although it was a lie.

“The One Piece is real”. Eustass stated. “I will find it, and I will become the King of Pirates. And I will kill anyone who gets in my way”. I couldn’t tell if he was letting me know or reassuring himself.

Suddenly, he bent over the desk. I leaned back instinctively.

“At the party”. He started.

“Yes?”

“You did palm reading”.

“That’s right…”

“Read mine”.

I wanted to close my eyes, hit my head, and complain about everything in life. Could the gods make it more difficult for me to stay alive? Thank you. There was no way I could read his palm and that he would believe me. What was I going to say? Agggh.

“Sure”. I said, faking I was confident. “Lay it on the table”. He did as I said.

I felt like I had tamed a wild dog. I resisted the urge to say “Shake hands” and “Good boy”.

“Alright, so… Anything you’re interested in, in particular?” Please, don’t make me read your whole palm. Eustass seemed reluctant to answer, but he muttered something (with such a low voice it was hard for me to understand him):

“…The love line”.

Deep breaths. Don’t laugh. Control yourself, ______. You are stronger than this. I exhaled. I wasn’t expecting that answer at all. What did he care about his love life? He just walked around any brothel he encountered, and I didn’t want to know what he would do inside. Maybe he was actually interested in Patty? I rejected that thought to not laugh.

“Okay…” I started to trace my index finger down his palm, faking I was reading something.

I started to panic. Now what? He wasn’t going to buy it. I couldn’t make up anything, it was dangerous. I bit my lip, swallowing my pride, my dignity and anything I had left (which wasn’t much). I would need to change my plans again… Here goes nothing.

I gasped as if I had seen something I shouldn’t have. I acted embarrassed, blushing, and turning my gaze away from him, letting go of his hand.

“I-I’m sorry, my professionalism doesn’t allow me to talk about…t-that stuff…” I put a strand of hair behind my ear, and I lowered my gaze. Please, buy it, please, buy it.

“W-what?! What are you talking about?” Kid was redder than I was. “Forget it!” He kicked his chair, and he sent it flying to the other side of the room. Thank goodness he didn’t kick the desk, or I would have been sent flying, too…

Another score for me. What was the last time’s score? Whatever, it didn’t matter. I was winning. Eustass brushed his face with his hand, hoping to get rid of the red that painted his cheeks.

“It’s not like I cared for your stupid magic readings or whatever”. He growled in embarrassment. I didn’t want to contradict him, even though he was clearly asking me to argue with him. It was obvious he did care, but I controlled myself. “You should know already, anyway…”

Know? Know what?

“Sorry, captain?” I wanted to know what he meant. He didn’t seem pleased.

“Tsk”. He was mad. “Why are you acting as if you didn’t know?” He spoke louder and put a hand on his desk loudly.

I got up from the chair. In case things escalated, I didn’t want to be trapped between a fluffy pillow and a beast.

“How dare you?” He got nearer. “You ask me what I’m afraid of, but you know perfectly, don’t you? You can see it in my eyes, the same way you see everything in your stupid magic ball”.

My plan didn’t work, since now I was trapped between a hard wall and a beast. The fluffy pillow would have been a better option.

“Then tell me”. Both of his arms were above my head. He was so close, leaving almost no room for air, that I was glad I wasn’t claustrophobic. “Tell me why I can’t stop thinking about you since you laid a foot on this ship. Tell me why I dread the thought of losing you and not being able to avoid it. Tell me…”

I couldn’t answer. My heart skipped a beat, or two. Maybe more.

“Tell me!” He shook me by the shoulders, and I closed my eyes due to the sudden shout. I didn’t say anything. Kid, after a few seconds, let go of me and leaned on his desk with both hands. “Leave…”

I did as told. I exited the cabin, not caring to take my bag with me. I closed the door and breathed in, trying to calm down. What did just happen?

I continued my way down the corridor until I was outside on the deck. Killer was near the bow lifting weights. Wights that looked way too big and heavy to be lifted by someone like me. Not even with years of training.

“______?” He said without effort in his voice. “Everything alright?”

“Why didn’t you tell them?”

He stopped the weight midway and looked at me, but he didn’t say anything.

“You know what I mean. Why didn’t you tell everyone that you knew I was lying?” I said not so loud and frowned.

As if he had understood me now, he kept lifting his weights and looked in front of him.

“Don’t you know already?” He teased me with a cocky tone.

“I’m not in the mood, Killer”. I said, more serious than I intended. The blond left his weight on the floor. I don’t know it didn’t make a hole on the ship.

“The truth is…” He stretched, cracking his neck. “that in the beginning, I didn’t think it was necessary. I found the ring beneath the window of that tavern, and I linked the pieces. But I thought you would blow your own cover on the first day. I was surprised it hadn’t been like that. I still don’t know if it was a mistake or a right guess, but I decided not to mention my suspicions to Kid. But the next thing I know is that you were already too attached to the crew. And they were too attached to you, too”. He moved on to stretching his arms. “Especially the captain”.

I stared at the floor, where the weight was laying, while Killer explained.

“And I had grown to get attached to you, too. It’s been days of thinking what should I do. But I finally decided that the choice should be yours”. He looked at me. Flashbacks of him dropping the ring in my glass came into my mind. He laughed in his distinctive way and pointed to my hand. “I thought you would have thrown it to the sea”.

“It wouldn’t have made a difference”.

“You’re right”. He took the weight again. “What are you going to do now? Will you confess the truth, or will you keep living a lie?”

I opened my eyes. Sometimes I wondered if the actual wise oracle wasn’t him all along, since he always seemed to know everything, how he saw your deepest concerns written in your eyes.

“I don’t know…” I answered. To be honest, I was scared of telling everyone the truth. But the longer the lie kept going, the harder it was going to be, to tell the truth later.

“You should decide soon. Lies are like a snowball. They grow, and they grow… Until they cannot be stopped”. He said with a mysterious voice un purpose, and I knew he was enjoying my suffering as if this wasn’t serious for him. It probably wasn’t.

“Can you stop reading my mind?”

“It wasn’t my intention”. He laughed. A clear laugh. It was the first time I heard with such clarity.

“You laughed”. I said like an idiot as if he hadn’t noticed already. Now it was my turn to tease him. “It suits you. I would listen to your laugh rather than your “Focus, you twat”. I mimicked his voice. Killer brought a hand to his mask, and I saw his neck was a bit red.

“That’s why I couldn’t tell the others…” He muttered, shaking his head.

»»—————————⍟——————————««

A few hours later, the blond entered the captain’s cabin. The redhead was still standing in front of his desk. One would believe he didn’t move if it wasn’t because the room was a mess, now. Hints that he had been throwing stuff around in a futile attempt to calm down his rage.

“Are you still mad about ______?” Killer closed the door. Kid sighed.

“…I asked her to read my palm”.

Killer seemed intrigued by that answer.

“You asked her to read your love fortune?” Killer asked and Kid nodded. “What’s the matter? She didn’t appear in your fortune?” He said, slightly making fun of him, knowing the struggles of the redhead to afront his feelings towards the pink-haired girl.

“She didn’t tell me…” He pulled his hair. “But she started to act weirdly and to blush”. He pounded his fist on the desk, as if he was saying _“Eureka!”_. “That means that maybe she has seen herself in my fortune, isn’t that right? And that’s why she didn’t want to tell me”. He asked with hope in his voice. Killer tried not to laugh.

“So that was the reason… Who knows? Maybe you should ask her again.

Kid growled, closing his eyes while he mentally punched himself for sounding so cheesy with those thoughts. At least Killer could help him a bit.


	17. About ideas and impressions

The next days went by normally. Well, to be honest, it was quite a weird normality. Do you know the saying “The elephant in the room”? Well, that’s how it felt like. Like there was a huge elephant in the middle of the ship, but everyone acted as if there was nothing there. In my case, we could have substituted the word “elephant” for “spikey red-haired infernal beast”, aka Eustass Kid.

Not everyone in the ship noticed it, that’s for sure. But the sharper and closer ones did.

“Don’t you think the captain is acting a bit weird?” Toba asked each time we sat on the table at mealtime.

Everyone shrugged, agreeing with him, but without interest or without an answer for the captain’s weird behaviour. I did the same as if I didn’t know anything about the matter.

But I did know (or at least I could faintly fathom) why the captain didn’t get close to talk to anyone if I was close; why he spent more time in his workshop; why he didn’t look as excited in the parties they threw from time to time…

What maybe he didn’t know was that, because of him, I couldn’t stop thinking about that day in his cabin.

“Then tell me. Tell me why I can’t stop thinking about you since you laid a foot on this ship. Tell me why I dread the thought of losing you and not being able to avoid it. Tell me…”

After repeating his words so many times in my head like a broken record, it even started to sound funny. Had that been a confession? They should give him an award for his dramatic acting because I almost took the bait. But after days of intense meditation, I realized it wasn’t possible. Nope, no, nein, niet, non. Impossible. No way.

We were talking about Eustass Kid. Eustass Kid, for fuck’s sake! An unscrupulous sadist without empathy. How could such a being be able to love? I was convinced Eustass had just attached like a child to a new toy. And we all know what happens when they get bored of said toy.

I would jump over lovesickness. It’s not like I had had any experience in love in Imbir, anyway. Yeah, some other time I met people who looked attractive to me, physically and for the way they were, but I could never see myself starting a relationship with any of them.

In a sense, I felt like it held me down. That you should start to plan your future like everyone else and end up like them: buy a house, have children, live your monotonous life faking you are happy every day and waiting for the day you would have to write your will.

And I loved freedom too much to choose that life.

I doubted someone like Kid could make me change my mind. I mentally laughed. He was attractive, I admit it. I would be lying to myself if I said otherwise or I should check my sight. Tall, nice body, strong, an assertive and intense look… Hell, he even had a certain charisma, I couldn’t deny it. It was the “bad boy” prototype so many people liked.

But it wasn’t the prototype I was looking for if I even was looking for something at all. I tried to convince myself that my increasing heartbeat whenever I thought about him was just the result of the many dangerous situations we had experienced together. Too much adrenaline.

With this new thought in mind, I left the broom I was cleaning the mess hall floor with away. There were breadcrumbs and fish bones… We hadn’t eaten fish again since two days ago. Did no one clean around here? I sighed and picked up the mop, trying to calm my still frenetic heart.

“Oh, ______, how are you doing? Do you know what’s for dinner?” Chum entered the mess hall, licking his lips. I looked at him and tried to remember.

“It’s not my cooking turn today, but I reckon Killer wanted to cook soup”. I dipped the mop in a bucket full of water. “If you’re going to stay, don’t step on the wet parts”. I started to scrub from the end of the room to the door.

“Oh, Killer’s delicious soup…”. He daydreamed while he headed to grab a snack. “I would stay and keep making a mess for you to clean and keep you company, but my pulse has suddenly gotten higher, I think I should check it out…” He grabbed a tangerine. “See ya”.

I said goodbye with a simple nod of the head, fearing his threat to making the room dirtier would be real. That had probably been a cheap excuse, but better for me; I preferred to think in solitude.

At dinner time, I was surprised to see Killer eating with us, but not Kid; they would always come together. The captain ate in his workshop? Killer would, too. The captain went to eat in the mess hall? Killer did, too.

“Kid’s not coming?” I asked the blond, trying too hard to not sound interested.

“He said he’s not feeling well”. Despite my efforts on trying to sound uninterested, I turned my head to look at him upon hearing that. “I’ll bring him the food to the workshop”. And he added, mockingly. “Unless you want to bring it to him”.

“Are you implying something?” I confronted him.

“Why should I be implying something?” He replied, always a step in front of me. I rolled my eyes and looked at the tray with the foo Killer had prepared for the captain.

“Oh, this is the tray that-“. I remembered I still hadn’t discovered who brought me the food that day. “Killer, do you know who left a tray of food next to my door?” I asked him, hoping he would remember.

“Yes”. He started to stir the contents of a pot. I swear, one day I’ll kill him.

“And… Would you be so kind to tell me who was it?”

“I’ll tell you if you bring the tray to Kid’s workshop, I’m busy”. He bribed me. Sure, stirring the soup of a pot that wasn’t even on the fire was being busy. And I’m the liar.

“Alright”. I picked up the tray and I looked at him, waiting for him to answer me before I exited the kitchen. I wanted my payment in advance.

“It was Kid”. He picked up the pot with both hands (we was wearing kitchen gloves) and brought it to the mess hall.

I nodded slowly while I formed a straight line with my lips. It was true; curiosity did kill the cat. I decided to hurry up and bring the captain his food.

When I was in front of the workshop, I laid the tray on my knee, standing on one leg to be able to knock on the door. Knock, knock, knock.

“Who the fuck is it?!” A scream came from inside the room. I almost throw the tray due to the shock, although I should have come prepared for this possibility. Kid screamed most of the time.

“I brought you dinner”. I dared to say after clearing my throat, fearing we didn’t hear me, and I would have to repeat it again after not receiving an immediate answer.

“Come in”. I heard after a moment. With difficulty, I turned the doorknob without dropping the tray, and I entered.

Like in his room, there was a table full of tools and papers. The difference is that there were more here, and he also had gadgets and machines which function I didn’t know scattered around.

Kid was sitting on his desk, his back facing me and fiddling with an appliance he had in front of him. When I received no further invitation, I risked it to get closer and leave the tray on a side of the desk without stepping on any of his blueprints.

The redhead didn’t move. Not even a thank you. He didn’t even turn his head to look at me. I wanted to know what was keeping him so focused, but when I tried to look above his shoulder, he bent over the object to hide it. I scoffed, a smile of incredulity creeping on my lips. It seemed the captain didn’t want to show his unfinished machines to the public. Well, I would respect that, then.

I gave a few steps back, letting him know any secret he had between his hands was safe. Before I could head for the door, Eustass sneezed:

“Achoo!” I could almost feel the ship tremble. Those were some strong lungs.

“Are you okay?” I asked him.

“Of course, I’m okay”. He covered himself more with the coat.

“Killer told me you weren’t feeling well”. I replied.

“So, what?” He spat. He must have run out of patience already.

I licked my lower lip and looked around. I ignored his previous comment.

“Did you catch a cold?” I asked again.

“I did no- Achoo!” He was interrupted by another sneeze.

I sighed and got closer to him, laying a hand on his forehead to check his temperature.

“Kid, you’re burning”. I reproached him, seeing his cheeks were slightly flushed and he was paler than usual. “That’s what you got for walking around with no shirt…” I muttered. Kid heard me and lifted a wrench, threatening to throw it at me, so I lifted my hands and stepped back in peace.

“Tsk”. He lowered the weapon. “You’re gonna miss dinner”. He changed the subject. A clear hint for me to leave.

“And are you going to stay here alone, shivering like an ice cube?” I crossed my arms.

“Then why don’t you do something useful and bring me something warmer?” He rummaged through a drawer and threw me a bunch of keys. “It’s the medium-sized one”.

I grabbed them on the fly and nodded.

“I’ll be back in a minute, then”. I said, not getting a reply, and exiting the room.

I picked the key he had described and inserted it in the lock. I opened the door to his room. I wondered what doors the other two keys would open. I would have been surprised by him trusting me enough to let me enter his room alone, but he probably did it because he knew he could beat the shit out of me if he wanted to. I guess you start to worry less about everything if you know you’re way stronger than the rest.

Now, let’s see where this man keeps his clothes. Would he even have shirts? One would have thought his closet consisted of pants and coats. That’s it.

I opened a closet. As if I had seen through it, there were only a few pants with striking prints hanging and another big and fluffy coat. Maybe I would be luckier checking the lower drawers.

Let’s see… Tank tops? No. Another tank top? Still a no.

…Why are there so many tank tops?

Oh! Bingo. Beneath a lot of other pieces of clothing, I found a black long-sleeved turtleneck sweater. Now I know why it was so hidden, it didn’t look like Eustass would wear something like. But he asked me for something warmer, so I would bring this to him.

I grabbed the sweater, folded it in my arm (ignoring the pleasant freshly washed smell it gave off) and exited the room. I locked the door with the key and returned to the workshop. This time I didn’t knock (I forgot), but he would know it was me.

“I’m back”. I said as if he hadn’t already noticed. He looked at me as if saying “I can see that”. I offered him the sweater, and I felt like a mortal making a sacrifice to the gods. Oh, almighty gods, accept my offering: this sweater.

Kid got up from his chair. The project he had been working on was now concealed by a cloth, hiding it from curious eyes like mine. He took off the coat, letting it fall on the chair. It took a great effort to look at another point of the room that wasn’t his torso while he grabbed the sweater and got dressed.

When it was safe to look, I couldn’t help but lift my eyebrows in awe. It didn’t look that bad on him. I guess now that I had seen him half-naked so many times, being completely covered gave off a different vibe. I hadn’t noticed before, but there were now two trays of food on the table. Kid saw where I was looking to and answered me, reading my thoughts.

“Killer came while you were out. You were taking so long he thought about bringing you the food so you could eat here”. He said it as if he had argued with Killer about that, not very happy with the idea.

“Oh”. I simply said. Kid also put on the coat, still shivering. I felt kind of bad for him. The cold of being sick was a very bothering and irritating type of cold. One that drenched you to the bone and didn’t disappear, no matter how many blankets you had on or how hot the room actually was.

He kicked a stool with little wheels towards me. I took that as an invitation to sit and dine there. I wondered if it would be as awkward when Killer ate with Kid as right now. I held the bowl of soup, warming up my hands. It smelled really good; Chum didn’t lie.

I hoped the broth also warmed up Kid. I’m sure Killer decided to cook soup because of him because we were approaching tropical waters and people walked around with T-shirts or tank tops. And I wasn’t an exception. But still, the heat wasn’t unbearable. I kept eating the soup while I observed Kid’s profile from time to time, who was behind the desk, not looking away from his bowl.

After emptying the bowl (Kid had already finished much earlier, having in mind his voracious hunger), I saw he had a confused look.

“Everything okay?” I asked him. Maybe he was still hungry. “Should I get you another bowl?”

Kid got up from his seat and stood in front of me. I lifted my head a bit to look him in the eyes.

“Close your eyes”.

“Uh?” I blinked, confused. Kid didn’t waste time arguing and covered my eyes with his hand. “What are you doing?”

“Checking something”. He just said, leaving me even more confused.

He covered and uncovered my eyes a few times. I couldn’t complain a lot, since I couldn’t shove his hand away if I wanted to hold the bowl of soup (now empty) that was on my lap. After two minutes or so, he stopped.

“Happy now?” I blinked, trying to get used to the light again.

“You weren’t doing it consciously?”

“Doing what?”

Kid breathed in, but he didn’t look exasperated, lucky me.

“It seems you can create tactile illusions when you look at someone in the eye. That’s why I warmed up so quickly, I thought it was weird… You were transmitting me your own physical state”.

I tilted my head, not believing it at first.

“Is it the first time this has happened?” He said.

I tried to remember. I didn’t recall having bothered anyone by mistake… Oh, Chum. So that’s what had happened when he mentioned his heart beating faster… I made him feel my own heartbeat at that moment, fuck.

My facial expression seemed to tell Kid it hadn’t been the first time. He smirked a smile that couldn’t be a good sign.

“You’ll have to control that”. He said.

I nodded, getting up to leave. It didn’t matter how fast I had been, his voice stopped me before I could touch the doorknob.

“You should try meditation; your heart was beating like crazy”. He mocked me.

Perfect. Stealth over 9000. Like a closed book, unreadable. Just marvellous. I set aside the sarcasm and exited the room, too embarrassed to even answer.

When I entered the kitchen there was only Killer doing the dished. A sensation of an unpleasant déjà-vu overwhelmed me. I left the bowl in the sink, and I realized I could have brought Kid’s bowl, too. Fuck him, let him do it.

“You look like you want to tell me something”. It was the first thing he pronounced. I decided to not beat around the bush, and I said:

“Look me in the eye”. Killer did as I said, not knowing what I had prepared.

I pinched my arm and Killer looked at his arm, as I was expecting.

“What the fuck did you do?” He half-whispered half-shouted, caressing his arm with his hand.

“I just discovered I can create, in captain’s words, “tactile illusions” if I look at someone in the eye”. More than proud, I said it with tedium. That meant more things to worry about, and I had enough.

“I see… If you try that with me again, you’re sleeping in the crow’s nest”. He warned me. I gulped, and I nodded.

“That’s the problem, I didn’t it do it consciously. How the hell can I control this?”

“Mmm”. Killer faked thinking and grabbed a straw basket to put it on my head, blocking my vision. “There, now you can’t look at anyone in the eye”.

“Very funny”. I took off the basket. “How does even a tactile illusion work?”

“The same way a visual or auditive one works”. Killer changed his tone of voice, switching to professor mode. “It’s like in dreams; your brain collects fragments of already encountered experiences, whether it is a picture, a sound, a taste, a smell… and puts them together. In the dream, you feel those impressions as real, but you are not actually experiencing them again. But there’s a problem”.

“What problem?” I asked, intrigued.

“Try to make me feel the same pinch from before, but without pinching yourself. Just remember how it felt like”.

It was difficult, but I tried.

“Did it work?”

“Yes, but it was barely noticeable. That’s the problem”. He started again, accompanying his explanation with arm movements. “This is an impression”. He stretched a hand to tickle me on my side.

“Hey! Stop!” I managed to say between giggles, stepping back.

“And the idea is this: now think of how it felt. It’s not as intense nor real when you remember it, right?”. I nodded. “It is a complex illusion if you try to stop the enemy by making him feel horrible pain because you’re not going to be able to do so if you don’t experience it first”.

“I understand”. I slowly brushed my hair with my fingers. “Wow, that sounded really… philosophical”.

“I’ve been reading Hume”. He confessed, and I smiled.

“Alright, but this doesn’t help me controlling tactile illusions, does it?”

“Don’t think so”. He continued to wash the dishes. “It’s interesting that it occurred so suddenly, you may have improved your powers”.

“I don’t see the improvement if I can’t control them”. I stepped in to help with the dishes.

“Maybe you’re too focused on what you’re feeling or on the person who you are projecting it to. The only solution I see is practice and more practice”. I sighed.

“I’ll do that… Thanks, Killer”.

“There’s nothing to thank for”.


	18. Christmas Special

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas! I've decided to write a special chapter for today ^^
> 
> Slightly out of the plot, but the things that happened in this chapter are still part of the story and the characters will remember it.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” I whispered to Toba and he shushed me with a finger on his lips.

“Trust me, this is going to be _epic_ ”. He whispered back, his voice cracking at the end when he wanted to suppress a laugh.

Toba guided us silently (Wire, Chum, and I) towards Killer’s room. It was still early in the morning and not a lot of people were awake. Heat would have come with us, but it was Killer’s turn to cook, and he didn’t want to have his food poisoned as revenge.

Why would he want to get revenge, you ask?

Well, you see, Toba had this marvelous idea to pull a Christmas prank on Killer. When the mastermind opened his cabin’s door without making any sound, I regretted not staying with Heat. But I also wanted to see how this ended up…

Chum was holding a box with Christmas decorations: colourful balls, little stars, little bows, tinsel wreaths…

The idea came up when Toba realized Killer’s long hair resembled a Christmas tree. You see where this was going, don’t you?

Killer was asleep on his bed, his breathing slow, his mask on his nightstand and his face half-covered by the bedsheet and his own hair.

Toba signed with his hand as if we were an organized criminal band sneaking into a bank. But I was sure this was more dangerous than bank robbing.

Following his lead, we entered cautiously and started to decorate his hair with the box’s decoration. Chum almost started to laugh, but Wire made him shut up by shoving a ball of tinsel in his mouth. Now it was my turn to hold in the laughter, but I didn’t need Wire’s “ _help_ ”, thankfully.

When we were done, Toba gave us a thumbs up in approval, and we left the lion’s den (aka Killer’s room).

When we were far enough, we all started to breathe normally, since we had been holding our breaths.

“Oof! That was hard”. Chum exclaimed.

 **“You almost drag us to our graves”,** Wire replied, but not being bothered by that.

“But have you seen how fabulous he looked?” Chum defended himself, and we all laughed.

Later, Killer entered the mess hall to head for the kitchen and cook the Christmas menu. Everyone there stared at him, cheeks puffed due to wanting to contain their laughter.

“What’s the matter?” He said oblivious to it. Thank goodness he didn’t bother to brush his hair today.

“N-nothing!” One of them said. Toba was cheekier:

“You sure have the Christmas spirit running through your veins, don’t you, Killer?”

The blond crossed his arm, sensing something was off. The captain entered behind Killer, rubbing his eyes.

“Good morning, Kid”. Killer greeted.

“Good m-“. Kid stopped. “Why the fuck do you look like an elf?”

“A what?” Killer headed for the kitchen, grabbed a pot lid to use it as a mirror. And then he saw his hair.

“…Toba… Was this your idea?” He had a dark aura surrounding him.

“W-what makes you think that?” He answered, one foot already prepared to start running.

“The culprits might as well make a run for it”. He muttered while he grabbed two frypans, one in each hand.

The next thing I knew is that we were running away from a psycho who wanted to kill us with frying pans.

“We’re sorry, Killer! We’ll take on cooking duty for you!” Chum screamed, elongating his vowels dramatically.

“It’s too late to ask for mercy”. He jumped an inhumane quantity of meters towards our condemned souls and hit us each in the head.

The pain was going to last, but the cute picture I took of Killer sleeping with his decorated hair was going to last, too. Worth it.

⍋☃❆｡❅*⋆☃⍋☃⋆*❅｡❆☃⍋

As a punishment, we had to bake the Christmas cookies Killer wanted to make (he didn’t let us cook lunch because he didn’t want us to ruin it).

We were decorating the cookies with frosting. There were gingerbread men, little trees (now I would have bad memories of Christmas trees…), snowflakes, candy canes…

And among all the cookies, there was a spicy one. Very spicy.

It was like playing Russian roulette with infernal cookies, a tradition Killer and Kid had had before sailing and that they shared with the crew. As the years went by, the tradition evolved.

Whoever ate the devilish cookie would have to dress up as Santa Claus for the whole day.

After Killer’s delicious feast (thank God he didn’t let us cook), the crewmates were singing Christmas carols waiting for the cookies.

_“♪_ _♬♩_ _On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me! ~_ _♪_ _♬♩”_

Each one of them picked a cookie, and it didn’t take long until we heard the captain scream:

“Fuck me!”

⍋☃❆｡❅*⋆☃⍋☃⋆*❅｡❆☃⍋

Now Eustass was dressed in a Santa Claus red dress, a hat, and a fake beard.

“Just my luck…”. He muttered through his teeth.

“Hey, Santa! What are you gonna bring me for Christmas?” Toba jested.

“A thrashing, sounds good?”

“Actually, it’s better if you give it to the poor, I don’t need presents”. He regretted. I passed by with a cookie tray:

“Red suits you, Kid”. I jokingly complimented him (even though it really suit him).

“Does it? Why don’t you sit on Santa’s lap?” He said suggestively, making me lose balance and almost dropping the cookies. “What’s wrong? Are you on the naughty kid’s list? Have you been a bad girl?”

“Blegh!” I cringed at Eustass' perverted comments. “Don’t talk like that!” I laughed a bit. “I feel dirty”. I said to myself, a shiver going down my spine.

“Does that mean you are…”. Toba made a dramatic pause. “ _Claus_ -trophobic?” He stared at me with his mouth wide open in a smile.

_Cri cri._

“That was shit”. Kid said.

“How _rude-olf_ of you!” Toba replied with finger guns.

“You better run for _deer_ life”. Kid threatened.

“ _Icy_ what you did there”. Toba winked.

They started to run around the ship, the rest of the crew laughing jovially at them.

⍋☃❆｡❅*⋆☃⍋☃⋆*❅｡❆☃⍋

At night, some people were exchanging Christmas presents. I wrote a mental note to have presents prepared for next year, since inside a ship in the middle of the sea was impossible to go shopping freely.

I was surprised when Kid handed me a box wrapped with red paper. The paper was a bit ripped, and there were pieces of scotch tape badly taped, but that was more endearing. Kid was tactless, but at least he tried.

I took it, not believing it, and I opened it. Inside the box, there were some weapons: hidden blades. I opened my mouth in surprise, and Kid smirked, knowing he had made a good job.

“It’s what I was building that day when I didn’t want you to look at the table”.

“Wow… I don’t know what to say”. I put a strand of hair behind my ear, too shocked at the detail, having in mind it came from someone like Kid.

“I have a gift, too!” Toba screamed. He appeared like lightning and got on the table, holding something above our heads.

Mistletoe.

If I could have seen my reflection in Kid’s pupils, I would have seen I was completely red in embarrassment. Everyone started cheering and applauding. Kid looked at the mistletoe, and then at my eyes with a look, I couldn’t decipher.

Before Kid got nearer, I couldn’t stop thinking about one thing: Why did the idea not sound so unpleasant?”

Kid held me by the waist and held me closer, pressing his lips against mine. A short and gentle kiss, a type of kiss I wouldn’t have expected from Eustass, but that maybe was because of the audience.

Even when he stepped back, I could feel his lips lingering on mine.

“Thank you for the present”. I cleared my throat and try to divert the attention to something else.

“Same goes for me”. He smiled and went to eat cookies.

The rest of the night, Kid looked more lively than usual.


	19. - OFFICIAL COVER -

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry! Not a chapter ><

Hi! I just wanted to share with you the cover of this story since I quite like how it turned out! ^^

And while we're at it, I want to show you another three covers of stories I have prepared, but I would like to know your opinions on which one should I start first; which one are you more interested in, etc ^^ 

I'll only start them once I finish this story though, so it may take a while 

Without further ado:

  * 1\. KILLER'S GARDEN - ONE PIECE AU - Killer



Around 1980-1990. Our main character lives in Barcelona, working in a cemetery. Killer moves to that city and people start to rumour creepy things about him. He looks scary and dangerous, a criminal. But our MC finds out he's not as tough as they say he is. Killer works as a florist and is Catalan in this story (woohoo).

* * *

  * 2\. ARS GALLERY - ONE PIECE AU - Trafalgar Law



In which, one day, MC wakes up and barely remembers anything from her life, but she receives a letter that tells her she got her dream job at a museum. Everything was going fine until she felt the paintings staring back at her... Is the museum haunted? Law as a ghost lol.

* * *

  * 3\. PHOENIX ARCADE - ONE PIECE AU - Marco 



In which our main character, a rebel detective, gets locked in an arcade overnight by mistake and overhears a conversation she shouldn't have listened to. She managed to, by pure luck, save the owner of the arcade's life and gets a job as his bodyguard. Now, she must find out the mastermind behind a threat to kill him before it's too late.

* * *

Well, that's it! Please, share your opinions on anything; they're always welcome ^^ Take care! <3


	20. Marine's Attack

After a few days of Christmas celebrations, we all returned to our monotone life on the ship. Training, cooking, cleaning, acting as if there was no tension between the captain and me…

I admit it, I felt something for Kid. I didn’t know what, but I felt something. I must be going crazy… How can I like someone like…him? I had already repeated that monologue in my head many times, so I wouldn’t add one monologue more to the list.

But nobody said anything about dialogues.

“Are you in love with Kid?” Kid asked me while I received his hits with the broomstick.

This was his marvelous training idea to control my feelings and, therefore, the tactile illusions I couldn’t control. I felt, however, that he was using me as a guinea pig to prove his theories after reading philosophy books.

“For the last time, I’m not”. I answered, somewhat embarrassed by the subject. “To be in love is too strong…”. I averted his gaze.

“So, you’re attracted to him?”. I kept quiet for a few seconds.

“…Maybe?”

“The sooner you admit it, the better. Controlling your feelings, you’ll control your power”.

“You can’t be sure, though; that’s just your hypothesis”. I dodged a lunge at me.

“And this hypothesis is the only thing we have. We’ll have to work with that”.

“Yeah”. I sighed. “Anyway, it’s not like someone could fall in love with someone that insensitive, violent, and stubborn”.

“And despite everything, you’re still attracted to him”. The blond replied. I pouted.

“…I must have gone bonkers”. I concluded.

“What are you afraid of?” Killer took me by surprise. I see. A taste of my own medicine.

I started to think about it. I guessed I feared… the future? The uncertainty? Maybe the fear of losing something again… Upon my silence, Killer continued.

“You must know that it’s the first time Kid acts like this with someone. He also was very confused”. He let out a dry laugh. “You can imagine it. The first time the blood-thirsty beast feels something different than hate”. He made me laugh. “I’m not sure he’ll tell you, but he appreciates you, ______”. He nodded with his head as if wanting to nail his words in my mind.

“Will he keep appreciating me when he knows I have been lying to him all this time?” I tried to joke, but I was actually worried. Killer shrugged.

“There’s nothing for you to lose if you try”.

“Nothing to lose?” I scoffed. “I’m pretty sure there have been people who have lost more for less”.

“But they didn’t kiss the captain”.

“But- “. I shut up and rolled my eyes.

“Good news”. He changed the subject. “You have reduced your tactile illusions; today I’ve only felt half the hits”.

“I don’t know why you would hit me if you’re also going to feel the pain”.

“That’s why I have reduced the intensity of my hits”. He leaned the stick on his shoulder, a hand on his waist. I nodded with a defeated expression. I shouldn’t have said anything.

“Well thought, Killer”. I said with fake kindness.

“I know”. He threw the stick at me. “Return it to the cleaning room”.

But his last words were muffled by the sound of the bell up the crow’s nest and a shout: “Marine ship!”. Killer got ready to battle.

“Forget that. Go get your weapons. Man your battle stations!”

I quickly went to the cellar to get Kid’s gift: the hidden blades. I put them on my wrists and headed for the deck with the broomstick still in my hands. A cannon shot shocked me while I was going up the stairs. I felt relief after remembering it was our cannon; Kid changed the trajectory of any cannonball that got near us, so they wouldn’t ever hit us.

I opened the door. The ship was still far, approaching strategically so both ships would be situated parallelly.

“At last, some fun!” Kid roared after tearing down the enemy ship’s mast with a cannonball.

I had to agree. A battle was always a good distraction. In the blink of an eye, the battle had started to take place on the deck. Some marines were jumping towards our ship with ropes, falling with an advantage on our crewmates. But that advantage disappeared once they touched the floor, and the innate thirst of blood of the Kid pirates made its appearance.

A marine tried to attack me from behind, to which I responded by turning around, hitting him in the chest with the end of the stick, almost making him fall. Before he could charge at me again, I unsheathed my blades and gave him a mortal blow.

I preferred to end their lives quickly, painless if possible. Unlike certain redhead that was now sickly twisting a marine’s arm that was screaming on the floor. I sighed. Dear goodness.

We were winning. In an act of despair, the captain of the Marine ship lunged at me, wielding his sword.

“Damned pirates!” He screamed at my face, some tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

I blocked his thrust with my blades, but he was stronger. My arms were one centimeter away from my face, trembling since I was using all the strength, I had to defeat him.

I was going to kick him in his side, but before I could react, Kid had sliced his head from behind. I avoided looking at it, but I should have covered my ears, too, if I had wanted not to hear the thump of his head hitting the floor.

“Was that necessary?” I muttered to myself.

“You’re welcome”. He said cockily.

“I was doing fine by myself”. I answered.

“You’re too slow”. He complained and stabbed another poor marine with a sword he picked up from the floor. “You’re never going to beat my record”.

“Record?”

Killer appeared jumping in the air, his scythes spinning after stabbing three other marines.

“1933”. He announced. Kid smiled and answered with another number.

“2189”. I had a feeling those were their total casualties.

The Marine ship was already sinking, and our crew got started on getting rid of the unwanted corpses, throwing them to the sea.

“______?” Killer said in a question-like tone. I sensed he was asking me for my record.

“Uhm…”. I tried to remember. Five marines now, Umbra, and in Imbir… “Eight?”

Kid laughed.

“It would be nine if you hadn’t stolen my kill”. I confronted him.

“Of course, sweetheart”. He said mockingly.

“We all have to start somewhere”. Killer defended me. He started to count. “I’ve seen you killed five now, and the sixth one was Umbra… What about the other two?”

Damned his vigilant and calculating ass. He didn’t miss a thing.

“I didn’t always work with tarot in Imbir”. I simply answered and went to help Toba to clean the deck, not paying attention to their curious stares. Next time I would make our ship disappear with a camouflage illusion, for fuck’ sake, what a mess. There was blood everywhere. That was going to be tough to clean…

“I’m exhausted”. I dropped myself on the sofa in a room I didn’t know we had until now. It was where the high-ranked ones went to talk about their important stuff, I guess.

We had finished cleaning everything and my arms ached. Heat sat on an armchair, Chum sat next to Heat, and Toba just dropped himself on the floor.

“Make room”. Eustass said with a gesture of his hand telling me to move. I sat normally to let him sit.

Killer was reading a book with a blue cover. It was a bit far, but I could make out some letters, reproducing the title: “Discourse on the Method”, by Descartes.

The others started chatting or playing poker. I was too tired, so I closed my eyes, trying to rest. I must have fallen asleep because, when I opened my eyes, everyone had left except for Kid. I was resting my head on him. I saw he was reading the same book that was on his desk from that time: “Liar Noland”.

I was going to get up, but Eustass’ hand prevented me from doing so and pushed me back on his lap.

“Get some rest”. He ordered. I didn’t feel like resting anymore, but I didn’t dare to get up.

I thought that might be a good opportunity to talk. Without getting up, I flipped myself to face the ceiling, observing how Kid read. His pupils landed on me, but they quickly returned to the book.

Luckily, Kid was the one to start talking, because I didn’t know where to start.

“Where did the other two casualties come from?” He closed the book and looked at me.

“Want to hear the long story or the short story?”

“Long story; I want details. But don’t make it too long, I’m not too patient”. He rested his head on his hand. He didn’t need to tell me twice for me to believe him.

“Well, so…”. I organized the brief version in my head. “When my grandpa returned, he was getting weaker and I was the only one taking care of the farm (it was our job). We lacked money, so I got into illegal fighting to survive. That escalated and escalated… I joined a gang”. I smiled weakly. “I guess one could think of us as criminals. But they were really good friends of mine…”. I realized I had started to ramble, and I returned to the main topic. “Anyway, an enemy gang of the area got mad at us because of money and they took down my entire gang. I could only take down two of them”. I bit my lip, reminiscing that feeling of impotence.

I hadn’t noticed during the narration, but Kid was caressing my hair, which fell like a waterfall on his lap.

“So, why were you doing witchcraft the first time I saw you?” He said, and I bit my tongue. Why was he so persistent in calling me a witch? That was not the correct terminology, anyway.

“After that day I didn’t want to know anything about my previous lifestyle. My grandad taught me everything I knew about that job, so I took advantage of it to make a living.

“I thought you had to be born with a gift for it”. He commented.

“Probably”. I blinked slowly. “But I wasn’t born with that gift. I never believed in it”.

Kid seemed to process those words.

“How could you not believe in it if you were doing that…magic?” He said, not understanding. I sighed. He still didn’t get it. Every second that passed made it harder for me to say it.

“My grandfather did remember Fatamorgana’s voyage”. I confessed and Kid opened his eyes. “He told me everything about his trips and, when he died, I planned to do the same voyage and reach the island to show him the treasure he could never obtain”.

“I imagined that when I discovered the rat of his mate did remember it, too”. He said with a husky voice, and I couldn't identify the emotion behind it. “But what does this have to do with anything?”

I breathed in and said, almost a whisper:

“I lied, Kid”.

I felt my stomach turn and an uncomfortable coldness soaked me to the bone. I felt the need to stand straight, and this time he didn’t impede it. I placed my hands on my knees, swallowing with difficulty.

“Explain yourself”. He ordered not looking at me.

“I’ve always been a deceiver. None of my readings were true. So, when you came in, I did the only thing I knew how to do: I lied. I lied to save myself. I didn’t see anything real in the cards, I didn’t see anything in your future, I didn’t see anything in your hand”. I almost wanted to scoff. “The only real thing is the voyage’s route and dangers in Fatamorgana; I haven’t lied to you about that. It would have been a suicide, otherwise”. I leaned back on the sofa as if saying that had made me more tired than running a marathon.

“Why should I give a fuck then?”

I turned my head to look at Eustass. He had his head resting on both of his hands, and his arms resting on his knees.

“What?”

“Are you deaf? I said: “Why should I give a fuck?” He got up. “I just want to get to that island. I don’t care if the treasure map has been shown to you by your grandfather, God, or a little elf from the forest”. He placed his hand on the armrest of the sofa, looming down on my sitting figure.

I lifted my head to look him in the eye. I felt like his amber eyes imprisoned me, that I drowned in them as if I sank in quicksand.

“But I still don’t like people lying to me”. He growled with a low voice. I bit my lips upon those words. I wonder if he’s going to cut my arms off first or my legs. Maybe all of my limbs at once.

“I’m sorry”. I said, not very loudly. “But it was lying or dying”. I tried to reason. Kid seemed lost in thought.

“I guess you’re right”. He straightened up. “And not killing you ended up as being the best option”. He said it with such frivolity I didn’t know if I should worry or not.

It didn’t stop there.

“Have you lied to me about anything else?”

I shook my head instinctively, thinking if I had missed something to confess afterwards.

Kid stayed silent for a while.

“Since I’m your captain, I order you not to lie to me again”. He made me feel small with his gaze.

“Yes, captain”.

“Nor to make me believe things that are not true”.

“Yes, captain”.

“You should start by telling me the truth”.

“Yes, captain”.

“Do you like me?”

“Yes, capt- What?”. That took me by surprise.

“Answer me with the truth. Don’t make me live thinking I have an opportunity of you seeing me as something more than your captain if it’s not true”. He got closer. I exhaled, my eyes unconsciously trailing to his lips.

There it was. The moment I had feared all this time.

A situation I could not escape from.

The words I dreaded saying, but I pronounced them:

“I like you, Kid”.

Barely conscious of my actions, I got closer to his face so slowly it was painful. Kid, being more impatient than I was, took the freedom to shorten the distance and kill me. I felt my heart fluttering and a pleasant tingly sensation rolled down my back. He took me by the nape, his fingers interweaving in my hair, deepening the kiss.

My suspicions were true; that first tender and simple kiss under the mistletoe had just been a product of the stranger's looks. The intimacy let Kid’s true colours show.

His lips caressing mine with intensity made me want to sigh, and my hand went for his neck in an attempt to not letting him walk away. But my hand fell down his shoulder like a dead weight when he lifted me from the sofa and made me stand, taking my last movement as an invitation.

He held my hips closer to him and my hands grabbed his shoulders, feeling I was going to fall back. Luckily for my lungs, he stopped a bit to get air and I did the same thing.

Kid looked at me not saying a word, breathing agitatedly, and his tongue against the inside of his cheeks. My fingertips brushed his chin, eager to cup his face in my hands.

A few knocks on the door made us suddenly step back. We stood there, suspicious and awkwardly in the middle of the room.

“Sorry, I forgot my…” Toba entered through the door and was heading for the table where they had been playing poker before, but stopping in his tracks when he saw the scene.

I averted his gaze, looking at the floor as if it was the most interesting thing ever. Kid seemed to find the ceiling very interesting, too. Toba took what he had come for, still looking at us. He let out a small giggle and walked backwards. I tried to hold in my laughter.

“Aaaalriiiight”. He elongated the vowels and winked. “Ouch”. He bumped his head on the door. He relocated himself and walked backwards again. “Aaaaalriiiiiight….” He slowly closed the door.

We stood there in awkward silence for ten seconds (that felt eternal at that moment) until I started laughing. Kid looked at me as if I was crazy, but I had also seen him smile.

“Where’s the joke?” He ruffled my hair with his hand.

“If you look from it from an outsider’s perspective, it’s kinda funny”. I said between giggles.

“From an outsider’s perspective”. He laughed, and his arm embraced me by the side, forcing me to sit on the sofa next to him. We bounced a bit after the fall. “I’m gonna keep reading, you can lay down and sleep”. He picked up the tale from the table.

“You know how to read? I thought you were only looking at the pictures”. I jested, and I received a hit on my forehead from the book. “Ouch”. I laughed. Thank goodness it was a paperback book.

I fell asleep again on Kid’s lap.


	21. Countdown

There were 13 days left to reach Fatamorgana when I confessed that I wasn't a real oracle to Kid.

Right now, if I wasn't mistaken, there were only 5 days left. It was little time, and I had little patience since Toba hadn't stopped making dirty comments and telling everyone what he saw in that room between the captain and me.

_"GUYS, THE CAPTAIN AND ___-". I covered his mouth with my hand._

_"Can you shut up for a while?" I reprimanded him for the fifteenth time that day. The first times I couldn't help blushing, but after being behind him all day so he wouldn't say anything stupid, I had become immune._

_"I knew something would happen between you two". He said to me._

_"You can see the future, too?" I jested._

Kid told me I wouldn't have to tell the rest of the crew, a thing I appreciated. Especially for poor Toba, who almost drowned because of me. He also survived because of me, but one thing doesn't erase the other.

And, furthermore, Kid, being the jerk that he was, wanted to keep the lie about the tarot to take advantage of it. He was pissed off when I told him I was not going to charge the crew for card readings, but he calmed down rather quickly.

It looked like I had started to tame him, and I felt like the most powerful lion tamer in Earth. Well, Killer was still ahead of me, having more experience dealing with Kid, but I would slowly reach his level.

How much time had I spent on this ship? Almost two months? It wasn't much. But if we look at it from the circumstances of the first day, I would've never imagined I would survive that many days.

A smile crept on my lips at the memory. When the idea of being here started to grow on me, I dreaded the idea of forging a relationship with any member of the crew. I guess that, unconsciously, I wanted to avoid the same situation I lived in Imbir. So, I tried to act as if I didn't care about them or as if I hadn't started to like the captain, thinking I would avoid further misfortune.

I stopped my thoughts to look around as if I had said that out loud and someone might have heard it. But no, no one was around. I laid back against the railing again.

Anyway, I was never good at hiding my feelings, and that had triggered the following events that led me to this moment. I stretched my neck towards the sky, closing my eyes, thinking about what would've happened if I had made different choices...

Maybe I would already be underwater.

Something fell on my face and then on the floor with a low thud.

"What the...?" I looked over.

It was a journal. The messenger seagull perched on the bannister and I put the coins it cost inside the bag it hung around his neck. He mewed what I supposed was a "thank you" or a "goodbye" and flew away, continuing his route.

They were so fucking cute. They even wore little hats! When Kid saw I was in awe, a few days ago, watching how he picked up the journal from its little wings, he asked me:

_"What's wrong?" He turned his head to look at me. "Am I that handsome?" He smirked, but his smile fell when I spoke._

_"It's the first time I see a messenger seagull!" I said excitedly. "Oh my god, they're so cute...". I brought both my hands to my face while I watched the seagull fly away._

_"Oh, right, the seagull". He tried to act nonchalantly. "If you like them that much, why don't you pick up the journal from now on? I'm sick of it. They usually throw it at my face..."_

And, since then, that was my job. I picked up the journal and headed for the mess hall, where most people still were after lunch.

"We got mail!" I threw it at Kid, and everyone gathered up around him to read it.

"Let me see, let me see". Toba was jumping over the captain's shoulders.

"The Kid Pirates sink a Marine ship". Kid read with a sadistic smile.

Just when I sat next to Chum, who offered me a cookie, Toba exclaimed:

"___, you're on the news!" He stole it away from Eustass to shove it in front of my face. "You got a reward!"

I grabbed it in shock. I looked at a corner of the article about the massacre we committed and...

"60.000.000 berries?" I almost choke on the cookie.

"You still have a long way to go". Kid sat next to me. "But this means you're officially a pirate in everyone's eyes". He smiled.

"I don't know if I should be happy about a price on my head". I joked.

"That comes with the job". Toba answered. "Hey! We should throw another party!"

"Another one?" I muttered. But nobody heard me because there were a lot more people already asking "Party? When?" like a choir of cawing seagulls.

"You motherfuckers only think about drinking..." Kid shook his head. He stood up and stated in a loud voice. "In four days, we'll be reaching Fatamorgana, the objective for what we've been fighting for. That last day, as a reward, you can party as much as you want". He made a tired gesture with his hand and sat again, stealing the journal from my hands.

"Ghosts appearances in the mysterious west island"...". He kept reading headlines in a whispering voice.

And so, a countdown had started.

»»————————⍟————————««

**_4 days left:_ **

"Focus". Killer repeated from time to time. But this time he wasn't hitting me with a broomstick. Lord, no. Now he felt like practising with the sword, pleased with my devil fruit power abilities.

At least the training varied a bit.

"I'm trying". I could barely say while I tried to dodge or block his attacks, whatever would hurt me the least. After a few minutes of fighting, I realized there was no damage difference.

"Too slow". He complained.

"What were you expecting?" I muttered under my breath, wielding my sword as fast as I could. It was hard to follow Killer's movements. He was so quick he didn't even seem to move; it looked like he was teleporting his arms.

After a while, we stopped the training.

"Alright. Enough for today". He said sharply. I wanted to throw myself to the floor. Today's training had been tougher.

For some reason, he looked more serious and quieter than usual. He was probably taking off his bad mood with me. Why did he have to choose me as his punching bag?

**_3 days left:_ **

"Alright, so here's the plan". Kid pronounced while sitting on the sofa. His arm held me by the shoulder, making me sit closer to him while he explained the manoeuvres the ship would need to do when we entered Fatamorgana's waters.

I had gotten used to his need to be closer to me than usual, but I don't think I would ever get used to these subtle displays of affection were right in front of the crew.

I think they were as uncomfortable as I was. They acted as if they didn't see anything, and I acted as if I didn't feel anything.

Perfect.

**_2 days left:_ **

"______, the rice". Killer asked me to pass him the bag in the pantry.

"Here you go". I gave it to him, trying to sound kind to counteract his bad mood from the last days. He didn't thank me.

It was nothing to worry about, though, right? In the end, they were pirates. And pirates didn't seem the type to say thank you or you're welcome. Was I thinking too deep into it?

We kept making dinner, and I could have sworn I heard Killer sigh.

Three times.

**_1 day left:_ **

"Toba, careful with those bottles!" I warned him from the kitchen. The dumbass was holding more than ten at a time, preparing everything for the party. "The captain will kill you if you break them".

"He would need to catch me first!" He ran away with the bottles and, miraculously, none of them fell. Was he drunk already?

"______, can you take this to the deck?" Heat handed me a box full of oil lanterns as if I had already answered with a yes.

"Sure". The bluette nodded and left.

Wire was on the deck, leaning against the mast, half asleep. I left the box on the floor and kneeled down in front of him.

 **"Rough night?",** I asked after shaking him a bit by the shoulder so he would open his eyes.

He just nodded and closed his eyes again. I smiled. I laid a hand on his shoulder, massaging it a bit before heading back for the box.

I would leave him to rest. I grabbed one of the lanterns and started to hang them around the ship.

"Finally! Party!" Toba elongated the final vowel, shaking two open bottles in the air, spilling a few drops on the floor. The rest of the crew was also drinking and chatting in the mess hall.

"You've been partying since this morning, jackass". Chum hit him in the head, making Toba spill more liquid on the floor.

"Can you stop wasting the good rum?" Kid approached the scene. Sadly, he slipped with the liquid and fell backwards on the floor.

Looking at the bright side, his giant coat would have acted as a cushion. On the other side, I didn't think he was going to like the idea of having stained his precious coat. He got up grumpily, grinding his teeth.

"Toba..." He threw a warning.

"I'-I'm sorry, captain". Even when drunk, he knew when not to fuck with Kid. The redhead took off his coat, looking at the mess.

"Tsk". He let out a sound of discontent. He then seemed to think of something and turned around to look at me. "Leave it to dry outside, hang it from the railing".

"Why must I do it?" I questioned to myself in a whisper, and Kid weirdly cleared his throat. He winked at me.

I stood still for a few seconds, thinking about what kind of morse code had that been.

"Because. Now go". He insisted with an arm stretched, offering me the coat. I acted as if I had understood his secret message, took the coat, and exited the room.

But why would he want to leave it to dry if he hadn't even washed it? It was going to get ruined...

When I went outside, I left it on the railing, making sure it wouldn't slip away and fall. Now that I think about it, I didn't want to be the culprit of the captain's favourite coat. I better stay there to keep an eye on it.

I leaned back next to it, a hand holding it (just in case), observing the empty deck. The wood shined due to the lamps I previously hung this morning. I should have brought a drink to kill time.

A minute later, the mess hall's door opened. Eustass walked towards me.

"Why are you here?" I asked him in confusion, and he gave me a more confused expression in return.

Suddenly, he took me by the wrist and dragged me to a more hidden place on the side of the ship. Before he pulled me away from the railing, I grabbed the coat so it would fall on the floor, fearing it would fall to the sea without me there.

"Is something wro-?" My words were stopped by his lips attacking mine. I could taste he had been drinking the same liquor he gifted me on the first party.

I would venture to say this kiss was even more desperate than the last one. His hands caressed my waist while he lowered his kissed down my chin, down my neck, down my shoulders...

"Kid..." I sighed, intertwining my fingers with his hair. He responded with a grunt of satisfaction.

"I've been waiting for this for days". He whispered with his lips a centimetre away from mine.

"And why did you take so long?" I asked in an amused manner.

"Because you didn't get any of my hints, sweetie". He reproached me, and kissed my neck passionately, biting on my shoulder as if he wanted to mark his territory.

"Oh". I answered, realizing that, indeed, I hadn't understood any of the hints he had thrown me the past days. Now, they did make sense. For example, when he told me to stay after the meeting, but I answered: "But it's late, I'm sleepy", or when he told me to have dinner with him in his workshop, and I answered that I had had dinner already.

In my defence, I'll say he could have been a little bit more precise.

I didn't have time to keep wandering about in my memories because Kid started to kiss me again, grabbing my hips. He pulled me closer to him. Or maybe he was the one that got closer to me. The thing is that now, Kid had introduced his tongue inside my mouth, toying around with my own tongue.

If I was hot before, now I was a walking heater. I firmly held onto his shoulders, trying to keep up with his rhythm even though I didn't know what I was doing. If it had been a battle, he would've won. When he separated from me, he subtly smiled and lifted me up, holding me by the hips and making my legs hold onto his waist, imprisoning me against the wall so I wouldn't fall. I gasped a bit too loudly in surprise.

"Shhh". He whispered close to my ear. "It would be better if no one came to look outside because they heard a noise... Unless that's what you're into". He arched an eyebrow with a smirk. I answered him with a weak punch on his shoulder.

"Of course not!" I whispered back.

"But that makes it more exciting, don't you think?" He bit my earlobe, making me lift my shoulders as a natural reaction.

"I-if you say so..." I stuttered. "Kid!" I brought a hand to my ear when I felt how he had licked me. If Kid was bald, I would be the reddest thing in this ship.

He just laughed lowly, letting me on my feet with care. The sound of a door opening revealed a drunk Toba walking on the deck.

"Everything alright, guuuys?" He said with difficulty, searching for the origin of the shout. My shout. Oops.

I patted my cheeks, trying to make the blood stop concentrating in my face, and I left my hiding spot.

"Y-yep! Everything's fine". I acted casually, and Kid did the same, picking up his coat from the floor.

"Oh, ___, there you are". Toba was talking, but I felt he didn't know what he was saying. I wasn't even sure he only saw one "___", this man should be seeing double, to say the least. "What's that? Did you hurt yourself?" He pointed to my neck.

Shit. I looked down as if I would have been able to see the red marks on my neck. I covered it with my hand, not expecting this would happen.

"N-no, it must have been an allergic reaction... something". I answered with a fake smile. Toba didn't change his expression. I could have told him the truth, and he would have reacted the same way.

"Ahh". He brought the bottle to his lips while nodding. Kid appeared behind me, and I sensed he was smiling.

"Toba, go back inside, would you?" He ordered with the tone of a suggestion and Toba did as told.

"Yes, captain". He went back to the mess hall, drinking the last drop of alcohol in the bottle.

When he had closed the door, Kid wrapped me with his coat like a fucking burrito, lifted me up and put me on his shoulder.

"Maybe you were right, it's better to be in a more private place". He said mockingly.

That was going to be a long night.

**_¡Hi there! This is a little note because I may take longer to publish the next chapter than usual since I start January with a lot of exams ╥﹏╥ When they're over, I'll start publishing chapters again. We're close to the end_ (ﾉ≧ڡ≦)**


	22. Second-on-command

I yawned, leaving my mug on the table.

 **“Rough night?”,** Wire, who was sitting in front me, asked.

“Yes, rough, indeed”. I answered.

The passageway could be seen since early in the morning, and the crew had already lowered the sails so the wind wouldn’t crash our ship against the spiky rocks. It was going to take a while to cross like that, but it was the safest way.

Somehow, the sky looked darker than usual, but there were no clouds. No birds. No sound. It was too quiet, and it only enhanced the eerie atmosphere.

The little light that came from the early morning sun disappeared when we fully entered the passageway. The walls were higher than our mast, impeding any light to go in or out. The island let us enter, but I wondered if it would let us out.

We spent the following hours on edge, outside, in almost complete silence. Just watching the water of the walls looming over us as if an imminent danger was preying on us.

Not just “as if”. There certainly was: the curse.

My grandfather told me that in this passageway is where the spirits would curse anyone with whom they crossed eyes. The thing is these spirits are not visible to the human eye.

To avoid any issues, I was focused on making our ship invisible to any outsider’s eyes. Kid just suggested to cover our eyes or look to the floor, but I wasn’t going to risk it. We didn’t know where those spirits could come from. So, I decided the best idea was that they could not see us, either.

I don’t know how much time it had been. It felt like hours. It was hard to maintain such a big illusion for that amount of time. I was starting to get dizzy.

Luckily, my eyes sensed more light coming into my vision. I looked at the bow of the ship, only to see that the tall rock walls were getting shorter and shorter into the distance, disappearing into the water. A few kilometres farther, we could already see land.

I wanted to get up and see it closer, but I stood up too quickly in my actual state. Then, I saw black. And in an instant, as if my memories were a film roll and someone had cut a part of it, I saw the infirmary room.

“I told you it wasn’t necessary”. Kid complained when he saw me open my eyes.

“You could have lost half the crew your way, stop being so stubborn”. I didn’t feel like beating around the bush.

Killer entered the room with a bucket of water and a small towel.

“Put this on your forehead, you’re burning”. The blond said.

“Thank you”. I answered.

“Killer, keep an eye on her, I need to talk to the crew”. Kid said.

“Have you told them?” I stopped him before he could leave. “That this island is full of mirages? They must not trust anything…” I made sure to emphasize the last part.

“I was going to now”. Kid turned his head slightly before exiting the room. “Stop worrying. It’ll do you no good”.

Now I was alone with Killer. I straightened up on the bed to stay in a sitting position. He dipped the towel in the bucket, wringed it and gave it to me. I pressed the cold cloth against my burning forehead, feeling much better, but only for the first seconds. After the seventh or so, the throbbing and sharp pain in my temple appeared again.

Killer was sitting on a chair, looking through the window.

“It’s weird”. He spoke. “Thinking that, from a start, when we exited this island, you wouldn’t need to still be in this ship”. He didn’t turn his head to look at me.

“You can always throw me to the sea”. I jested. Killer laughed a bit.

“No, I don’t think anybody would like that”.

“I’m sure you didn’t think the same thing in the beginning”. I stated.

“No”. He admitted. “But things change”.

I almost smile, thinking that I had made enough progress to belong to this crew.

“You know what?”. He continued. “I shouldn’t have called you a liar. You were able to use some magic because you had me hypnotized”. He looked at me.

“What?” I let out an awkward laugh, shocked by what he said. He got up from the chair and approached the bed.

“I can’t stand seeing how Kid is the only one in your head”. He brought his hands to his mask, making a “click” sound. “I feel like it should’ve been me the one to occupy that place, but…”. He started to take off his mask with agonizing slowness. “I guess I’ll settle for being your second-on-command, too”. He placed a kiss on my forehead. “Maybe I’ll be luckier in another life”. He whispered.

My heart started to beat so fast, and the sudden confession made me blush. That couldn’t be happening. Was that a joke?

“What are you talking about, Killer?” I murmured, shocked. His hand didn’t stop sweetly caressing my cheek.

“Don’t try to make me think you don’t feel anything”. His hair covered part of his face, but I could see he wore a lipstick similar to Kid’s, and that his eyes were a beautiful blue that penetrated my soul. I gulped.

“This is not okay…”. It was the only thing I could manage to whisper after a minute of pondering. How could I be falling in love with two men at the same time? It was completely beyond me. My thoughts collided against each other like bolted horses; some disappeared after the collision, others lost, and others won above the others. How could I know it was love what I was feeling?

“I already warned the…”. Kid entered the room. “…crew”.

Oh, no. Suddenly, I felt like the main character of a cheap soap opera. I feared that, at any moment, Kid would go on a rampage and start shouting: “What are you doing kissing the cripple!?”*, but he didn’t. Luckily.

Killer, on the other hand, was really calm and acted as if nothing had happened. I looked at him by the corner of my eye, confused by the situation. Wait, when had he put his mask on again?

“Don’t look at me like that”. Killer started to talk. “Did you think I was going to do something like this knowing Kid was head over heels for you without talking with him first?”

I blinked, feeling defeated. Sometimes, I felt like I was the only one who didn’t know about what was happening inside this ship.

“Look who’s talking”. Kid scoffed. If Killer would have had his mask taken off, I’m sure I would’ve seen him roll his eyes.

“So… no one is angry, right?”. I asked, relieved.

“No”. Both of them answered at the same time. I nodded, not knowing how to react to that.

“Don’t be so surprised”. Kid got nearer. “You must already know none of us pretends to be your only knight in shining armour. You shouldn’t, either”.

“What Kid wants to say is”. Killer intervened. “we’re not asking you to choose. You are free to forget this conversation, or to let yourself go…”. He reached his hand to me, but I got up from the bed and walked towards the door.

“C-couldn’t you leave this for another time?”. I said, embarrassed. “We have finally reached the island after long months of waiting, let’s not waste more time”. I went on the deck without looking at them.

»»———————⍟————————««

Kid let out a laugh.

“Now we’re talking”. He followed the same path as ______.

“Maybe that was too sudden”. Killer scratched his nape, following the captain.

Kid looked at ______'s silhouette with admiration. That girl had impressed him with her attempts to act bravely in front of him, the feared pirate Eustass ‘Captain’ Kid. Behind those quivering eyes that looked at him in the start, hid a great strength and ambition. He would admit the first thing that caught his eye in the tavern was her appearance, but he didn’t regret his choices after realizing that wasn’t the only striking thing about her: no one that didn’t belong to his crew had fought with his men and survived, she risked her life to save Toba from the sea… He still thought that had been a stupid thing to do: risking her life for a pirate. Pirates that had kidnapped her.

But Kid thought that, if you weren’t prepared to die, you should stay away from these waters, and the resilient attitude of the girl had captivated him. He even found it funny, in a morbid way, the fact that she had hidden from him she was not a true oracle, but that triviality didn’t push him away from his goal: Fatamorgana. The place where one of the most valuable treasures in the New World awaited. The legend told no one had ever seen it, but legends don’t always tell the entire truth. And, like Bonaventura, ______'s grandfather, Kid knew about the existence of the talisman that was able to bring the dead back to life. He hadn’t told anyone else. Not even Killer. He wanted to have such an object in his possession for his crew’s safety. He had already lost some men before, and, even if he could kill anyone without mercy, no remorse, he couldn’t stand when people messed with his men. He was a hypocrite and selfish, but, in the end, we all are up to some extent.

Killer followed the captain, a few steps behind. “Distrust” was the first word that came to his head when he thought about ______ the first days. He couldn’t understand why the captain wanted to risk it when a bluffer could have been taking them to certain death, and he spent several sleepless nights, angry at himself when he saw he had started to open up to her. But, like Kid, he was surprised, seeing she didn’t give up. He had also been captivated by her. He wondered what was wrong with him when his heart beat faster being close to her, each time he looked at her.

Kid admired and appreciated her, he wanted to protect her. Killer also appreciated her and was enchanted by her, he wanted to see her happy. None of them had less sincere feelings than the other. She was between the amber and the sapphire.

»»———————⍟————————««

“Everything alright, ______?” Heat asked me, leaning against the wall. “You had us worried when you fainted”.

“I’m okay, thank you. I must have used too much energy to cross”. I smiled at him, ignoring my fast-beating heart. Nonetheless, I took as a good sign the fact that Heat didn’t show any symptoms of having perceived my heartbeat. That meant I had managed to control my tactile illusions. If Killer was right, would that mean I had also controlled my feelings?

I wasn’t so sure about that. During this time, I had learned to appreciate the whole crew (even if I couldn’t remember some of their names). Was it alright for me if I appreciated Killer and Kid more? If “appreciate” was the correct word to use in this context… A few weeks before I would have said that “love” wasn’t the correct word either, but who defined what love was? I loved my parents. Despite everything, I loved my grandfather. Hell, talking about friendship, I even loved Toba, Heat, Wire, Chum… I didn’t want anything bad to happen to them, and I felt happy around them. Then, I could say I loved Kid and Killer, right?

Yeah… I decided that was the answer. There were different ways of loving, and I was going to decide how and who I was going to love without nobody telling me. With another burden out of my shoulders and the excitement to have reached our longed destination, I turned around to look at the captain and the second-on-command.

“What are we waiting for?” I smirked. “I’m going to show this island who the boss is”. I jumped over the railing on the shore. All the fear I had kept these days was now cornered in some dark corner inside of me.

For my parents, for my grandfather, for my friends in Imbir… For my crew. I would pick up the reins of my life now.

_*https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FajaQxcad-w_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My, my, eight days without uploading. Sorry for the long wait! I was busy and I didn't know how to write this chapter without it seeming rushed, but I fixed it and now I think it looks much better than it did before lol. I hope you guys are having a great day! <3


	23. [+18] EXTRA: The night before the mission

**_About what happened between Kid and ______ after Toba's interruption in private_ **

After the fortuitous encounter with Toba, Eustass took me to his chamber and threw me on the bed, still wrapped like a burrito with his coat.

He also threw himself on the bed, making me bounce a bit.

"Can you get me out of this?". I said while trying to free my arms. Kid let out a guttural laugh.

"Can't be helped", he took off the coat and threw it on his chair, "Although I liked the picture."

"Ha, ha". I answered with sarcasm. Kid replied by devouring my lips, continuing what we had abandoned before we had been interrupted.

My hands made their way to his neck, bringing him closer to me. Kid's fingertips were placed on my thighs, and he brought me close to him back; he didn't like to be told what to do. I almost rolled my eyes, if it wasn't because, after he took my shirt off, he was struggling with my bra's fastener, to no avail.

"Slow down, tough guy", I placed my hand on his forearm as a signal for him to stop, and I unfastened it myself, giving him a mocking smile at the end, " _Ta-da."_

Kid growled like a dog that was protecting a piece of meat, glaring with hatred at the bra. At a poor bra.

"I hate those things". He stated, changing his attention to my chest, starting to massage my breasts in a rough manner.

"Kid, could you be... less rough?". I looked at him pleadingly. The redhead looked back at me, slightly bothered. An inconspicuous blush appeared on his cheeks, giving in into the request.

" _I'msorry_ ". He grumbled, trying to be gentler. Had I made the great Eustass Kid apologize to me? I could die in peace now.

I smiled and caressed his hair, toying with his reddish locks while his mouth left marks on my neck, small bites, licks, kisses... I felt his hand on my waist, somewhat cold, but, at the same time, the touch was hot. He continued by taking off my shorts, this time with more success than with the top part.

Since Kid always walked around without a shirt on, there wasn't much of a difference, having him with just his pants on the bed. My hand timidly moved towards the hem of his pants, lowering them just a few centimetres with one finger while I plead Kid with my eyes. He smiled, pleased, and fulfilled my request.

Suddenly, I felt his fingers caressing my womanhood, no long after he decided to insert a finger, making me moan.

"Kid..."

He smiled and increased the intensity, taking care of my clit with his thumb. My back arched when Kid brushed past a specific place, making his smile grow wider. He reached a hand to his nightstand, taking a condom out of the drawer. Look at him, a well-prepared young man.

"You don't know how bad I wanted this". He placed a kiss on my forehead and put the rubber on his growing erection. I gulped, feeling nervous, and Kid noticed it.

A side of him wanted to stick his chest out cockily, feeling powerful, but he didn't forget about my previous request and caressed my cheek. I could tell, though, that he wasn't used to those things.

"Ehm...Don't worry", he cleared his throat while looking away, "I won't hurt you". A soft smile crept on my lips.

"I trust you". I brought his face close to mine with both hands, giving him a gentle kiss.

Kid took my hand, pinning it over my head and pinning myself on the mattress, situating himself in front of my entrance.

"Ready?". He whispered, starting to slowly enter. I closed my eyes tightly, trying to make the pain and discomfort dissipate. My body shuddered when he fully entered inside of me.

Kid started to move slowly, gritting his teeth while trying to control his impulses. From time to time, he panted next to my neck, making me get satisfying goosebumps.

He started to move faster, and each thrust became more and pleasant. Kid was nipping his lower bit, and I saw it was bleeding a bit. He kissed me at the same time he increased the pace, and I could taste the metallic aftertaste of the blood, the same way Kid did. After seeing his flushed face and his half-lidded amber eyes, I knew that it aroused him.

Our moans echoed among the four rooms of his cabin. They returned to me my pants, my heavy breathing, and Kid's. A funny feeling started to form in my lower abdomen, and my hands fondled his muscular back. I pressed my fingers into his pale skin, leaving a few scratches as if it was a canvas. My legs started to tremble slightly.

"Fuck-". Kid panted, followed by more intense thrusts than before. After a few more thrusts, I felt reached heaven, my gaze lost in the ceiling, and my head jerked back. I closed my eyes while I tried to recover the breath I had lost and bring back my heartbeat to normal.

Kid placed a simple kiss on my neck, laying down next to me, content.

"Don't you want to go back to the party?". I said, still with difficulty.

"You kidding?", he answered and I laughed. His tone changed, "I won't let anything happen to you in Fatamorgana. Not in this island, not on any island. Not you, nor the rest of the crew. You hear me?". His voice sounded a bit hoarse. I turned to him and nodded.

"I also won't let anything bad happen". I put my arm around his chest, nuzzling up against him.

A promise of loyalty made by both sides. Kid was not going to allow the crew to suffer; ______ wasn't going to let the people who had saved her from a meaningless life to suffer, either. They were the ones that made her open her eyes and find a new purpose. Because now she belonged to something again: **_The Kid Pirates._**

**__ **


	24. Fatamorgana

Kid pulled out the paper list with the upcoming ordeals:

  1. S̶p̶i̶k̶y̶ ̶d̶e̶f̶i̶l̶e̶
  2. Ugly bird jungle
  3. Waterfalls
  4. Stone door
  5. Treasure



He took out a bitten pencil from his coat and crossed out the first step.

“Now what?”. He asked me. Everyone was looking at me. For them, I was still the oracle that warned them from danger. Kid waited for my answer, as always, despite knowing the truth.

“Now… we have to go through the jungle. Nothing special, just bird. Violent birds. Quite violent… Don’t look at them in the eye; they take that as a challenge”. I said.

“Pff, birds, how scary”. A voice from the crew jested sarcastically, followed by his peers' laughs.

We walked inside the vegetation. The tall grass reached our knees, there were palm trees, their trunks slightly bent in every direction possible. Some of the leaves moved, due to the birds that started to fly, being disturbed from its usual calmness. A squawk echoed.

Suddenly, a huge, winged figure perched itself on a rock in the middle of our path. The bird was almost two-metre tall. Its feathers were purple, its eyes big and furious, and a big orange beak with which it could cut down half of the forest if it wanted to.

“Don’t move…”, I whispered, lifting a hand towards the crew, “Don’t make noise. They won’t attack if they don’t feel like we’re a threat”. I said calmly, but I was actually nervous. Everything depended on me.

More birds like the previous one appeared, but these were smaller; some were like pigeons, and others were like seagulls. I frowned, seeing a strange glow emanating from some of them. Like a white aura.

“Pretty little birdy…”. Toba whispered with a nervous smile, too close to the beak of one of the birds. Its figure also emanated that weird aura.

 **“Get away from that thing, dude”,** Wire signed to Toba.

“I’m trying!”. He half-whispered half-shouted, stepping away from it. After the sudden movement, the bird squawked and lunged towards Toba, who quickly pulled out his sword.

He would have ended that bird’s life in no time, but it wasn’t necessary: the image of the bird vanished in the air when it made contact with the blade.

“Did you guys see that, too?”. He asked in shock.

“A mirage…”. I murmured and looked again at the birds. Of course, the island was full of mirages. There was going to be traps everywhere.

“Ha! They’re not real”, Nat’s confident voice rose among the crew, bothering a bird with his hand and making silly faces, “What are you gonna do to me?”. He stuck his tongue out. But this bird didn’t have the same aura…

Nat screamed when the bird lunged towards him. This time it didn’t vanish; it was real. I’ll just say Wire would need to teach him Sign Language if he wanted to communicate non-verbally…

As if his scream had been a war declaration, the rest of the birds got ready to attack.

“God damn it…”, Kid muttered, reaching his hand for his gun. He stopped his hand mid-air and changed the direction to grab his dagger. His bothered expression changed into a sadistic smile, “We’ll be eating birds for a few days, I see”.

The boss bird was going to attack Kid, but it screamed when it saw his sadistic expression, flapping its wings away from him. Had Kid just scared a bird with his look? Yes.

“Don’t chicken out”. Kid took the bird by its neck with an evil smile and laughed at its own joke.

“Hmm, I don’t think they belong to the Phasianidae family”. Killer gave an answer to the redhead’s joke with a thoughtful appearance. He was holding a few inert bird bodies.

“The _what_ family? Why should I care who their grandparents are?”. The blond sighed.

“It’s the term used to name the category in which chickens are included”.

“Have you been reading about chickens?”. They didn’t stop fighting the birds.

“Not about chickens; about birds”.

“And all of that to tell me my joke didn’t make sense?”

“Pretty much”. Kid threw the bloody corpse of one of his _chickens_ at Killer. The blond groaned as a complaint.

“Oh, come on, Kid. Now I’m soaked in chick- bird blood”. He rectified, trying to dry off a bit of the blood from his shirt.

I interrupted what would become an argument when we got rid of the last bird that attacked us. I tried to only attack the ones that had the white aura around them to go faster since the island’s idea was to play with your mind. Make you lose time with fake images, making you wonder what’s real and whatnot, so you would end up losing your mind.

“I have news”, both looked at me, “. I think I can differentiate the mirages from the real deal. It must be because of my devil fruit…”

“How can you know if they are mirages or not?” Kid inquired.

“The fake ones are surrounded by a white glow; the real ones are not”.

“That’s quite a big help”, Killer nodded, “We’re counting on you”. I nodded back.

“Well, now that there are no more birds around”, I looked at the slaughter. Chum and Toba were picking them up and putting them inside bags. Their mouths were watering. I wasn’t sure if it would be a good idea to eat those things, but alright…, “there should be no more problems to reach the next step. But don’t let anyone get too cocky”. I stated, making it look like it was for the crew but actually directed at the captain, too.

He nodded, obliviously, and crossed out the next step on the list:

  1. S̶p̶i̶k̶y̶ ̶d̶e̶f̶i̶l̶e̶
  2. U̶g̶l̶y̶ ̶b̶i̶r̶d̶ ̶j̶u̶n̶g̶l̶e̶
  3. Waterfalls
  4. Stone door
  5. Treasure



We stopped to rest a bit by the end of the jungle. The sun was on top of the sky; it was around mid-day. Chum had to cure some of the crewmates hurt by the animals. They were stronger than what they seemed. They also took the chance to eat something, and, even though the most rational thing was to take in some energy, I couldn’t take a single bite. The nervousness in my stomach already filled me, not letting me even smell the rice ball that Toba offered to me, two inches away from my face.

“No, thank you, Toba. I’m not hungry”. I rejected it scrunching my nose.

“You should eat something”, he replied with that rice ball already in his mouth, “, but if you don’t want it, for me”.

“For you”. I assured him.

We could hear water running. We were close to the next point: the waterfalls.

Kid got rid of the undergrowth that blocked our path and vision with his giant metallic hand, tearing down a few palm trees in the process. Before us, an ideal tropical scenery unveiled. It would have been a perfect place to go on vacation if it wasn’t because the island had a too high mortality rate for any couple on their honeymoon.

“We’re already halfway there”, he looked at the list, “This will be a piece of cake”. Kid smiled. I looked at him by the corner of my eye, praying so he wouldn’t take any unnecessary risks even if we hadn’t encountered a bigger danger yet.

“Great”, I started to speak. Numerous rivers and waterfalls were falling from mountains, crossing through the dirt, and falling down to other levels of the island, “Now we have to go down…”, I looked around, “there”. I pointed to a hole in the dirt. There were four waterfalls, and the water fell with strength.

The diameter of the hole was like a kilometre long. I wasn’t going to measure it, but it was huge. The Victoria Punk would fit there without touching the walls. In the rivers that flowed to the hole, some of the tree trunks that Kid had cut down before were floating.

“Did an explosion happen here or what?”, Toba exclaimed after seeing where we would have to descend, “How are we going to get down there without dying?”. I smiled. When my grandfather reached this part of the story, I would always get excited. I would wonder how it would be to do that in real life. And now I could try it.

“Have you ever slid down a water slide?”. I asked, approaching one of the trunks.

It was wide enough to sit without falling. Perfect. The crew stared at me in confusion, some of them shaking their hands as an answer to my previous question. With a smile, I guided Toba and Chum towards the trunk, making them sit on it. I sat in front of them, holding onto a branch as support.

“Me neither”. I answered my own question. “Hold on tight!”. I gave an impulse to the trunk with my foot, and the water current did the rest of the work, taking us towards the cliff.

“______! ARE YOU CRAZY?!” Toba shouted, grabbing my shoulders. Chum was holding onto Toba’s waist and shouted for himself:

“Why didn’t we throw her at the sea when we could?”. Too late for that, Chum.

The trunk started to tilt. My head went in my face due to the position, and I pushed it back with a hand.

“Is she stupid? They’ll fall directly”. Kid muttered next to Killer.

But, against all odds, the trunk didn’t fall vertically, following the waterfall path. Suddenly, another water path, like a descending spiral, appeared as the trunk slid down: literally, like a water slide.

I shouted in excitement, seeing how fast we went, and I felt Toba had relaxed after seeing we were not falling to our doom. I laughed from the adrenaline. My grandfather told me that there was an invisible water path with which you could go down. Thanks to my devil fruit, I identified the path was in this waterfall out of the four ones.

Our trunk fell with a splash on the lake down there, leaving us soaked. Toba and Chum let themselves fall on the nearby grass, getting out of the water, breathing as if they had been holding their breath. I rolled my eyes, but I smiled and threw myself, too, next to them.

“Wasn’t that fun?” I said with excitement.

“That was…”, Toba huffed and puffed, “THAT WAS INCREDIBLE! Can we do it again?”. Chum smacked him in the head.

“As if! There’s no time for silly games”, he shouted to the rest of the crew, “Guys, it’s safe, come on!”

“Use the same waterfall!” I added in case anyone wanted to try another path.

“Can’t they use the other ones to get here faster?”. Chum asked.

“If they don’t want to fall to their demise, no, they cannot”. I replied. Chum made sure to shout out that warning.

After a few minutes, everyone had descended, their clothes soaking and a cemetery of logs floating in the lake. I had to admit that Kid with wet hair and water droplets running down his face and chest was something worth admiring. Not to mention how Killer’s (already tight) shirt stuck even more to his muscles thanks to the water, revealing the outline of his body. I slapped myself mentally to avoid blushing.

“Wasn’t there another way?” Kid muttered through his teeth, drawing out the paper with the steps to follow. It was all wet, and it was illegible. He crumpled it and threw it away on the grass. More pollution, great.

“Oh, yeah, there was a stairway, but this was way more fun”. I answered while I tried to get rid of the excess water of my clothes.

“Are you kidding me?”. Kid got close with a mad expression. I held in my laughter and stepped back; in case he would get angrier.

“I was joking, I was joking”, I lifted my hands as a sign of peace, “Goodness gracious, what a temper…”. I muttered. How did he believe there actually was a freaking stairway strategically placed for his royal ass to use?

“What’s next? The stone door, right?”, he said, vexed, “And the treasure’s right there”. He smiled as if seconds ago he hadn’t been angry.

“Yes, but…”. I didn’t dare to complete the sentence. Kid looked at me in confusion.

“But?”. He inquired.

“But…”, I looked around in the hole we were in. Dozens of doors surrounded us, each one with a different symbol. Or the same symbol, but in different colours, painted on the stone like cave paintings, “only one of the doors is the correct one”.

“And? You know which one is it, don’t you?”, he crossed his arms, “Don’t you?”.

I looked at him in the eye, and managed to whisper:

“No.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started to change the OC's name for the almighty reader insert. I'm sorry if it caused any inconveniences.


	25. The Symbol

__

_"And? You know which one is it, don't you?", he crossed his arms, "Don't you?"._

_I looked at him in the eye and managed to whisper:_

_"No."_

"What?" He couldn't believe his ears.

"I don't know which one is the correct symbol", I furrowed my lips in a straight line, ashamed. His silence made me want to justify myself, even if that would anger him more, "M-my granddad described it to me, sure, but there are so many and they're too similar, I could make mistake in any detail and then..."

"And then?". He interrupted me.

"And then a horde of living skeletons would attack us".

"Is this another joke?"

"No! This is for real", I exclaimed, "My grandad had to fight a lot of them before finding the correct door... He was lucky".

"It can't be that difficult; we'll defeat them like those ugly birds".

"Oh, no, no", I stopped him, "These are way stronger than those birds", I pointed to the grass, "All of this is a cemetery for ancient warriors of Fatamorgana that died centuries ago. They have armours", I started to count with my fingers, "they have weapons, they're ready to fight. And they're dead!"

"And?". Kidd asked again. I almost facepalmed.

"You can't shoot them or stab them with a knife", I shook my head, "They'll keep attacking you; there's no way to make them stop using brute force (I'm looking at you). The only way they will come to a halt is by opening the correct door".

"And what's the problem?", he rose his voice, "Let's open every single door if necessary, and let's enter the correct one".

"It's not that easy". I whispered, trying to make him see reason. Didn't this man see drawbacks in anything?

"Why not?"

"Because more warriors will come out each time you open a door".

"How many can they be?" He said mockingly.

"More than ten thousand?"

"Is that for real?", his expression changed. I nodded, "And there are more than twenty doors, what a nuisance..."

"I could...", I started to weave a plan. Maybe I could make us disappear with a mirage if they didn't move, and... My thoughts came to a halt when I saw Kid breaking out the big guns.

"Listen up, assholes! Get ready to fight!". He smirked sadistically. Great, we were going to do this with brute force. As expected from him.

The crew prepared themselves for the battle, and I wasn't the exception. I unsheathed my hidden blades, my gaze fixed on the ground.

The captain broke a random stone door with his fist, and my jaw almost touched the floor in shock. I still wasn't used to witnessing such shows of force, but it wasn't just that what shook me.

"This dumbass... He doesn't need to break them; he just needs to touch the symbol". I whispered, shaking my head.

There was an earth tremor. It made me bend my knees to maintain my balance. The first bony fingers emerged from the soil, revealing living corpses. It was a scene worthy of a zombie apocalypse.

I saw Toba didn't waste time waiting for them to come out and started to kick their heads so they would stay inside.

"Back off, demon, back off!". If Toba had had a crucifix, I'm sure he would have pulled it out.

Kid was destroying groups of soldiers in bursts of punches with rage. He looked like a guardian dog protecting his home, except for that it should have been the other way around; we were in enemy territory, after all.

I wrestled with a living corpse that lunged at me with a katana. It hurt to admit that it had been difficult to get it off me; they were stronger than what I imagined. Luckily, they were quite slow, that being the only advantage for us. The skeletons that the captain had thrown on the floor were standing up again.

"Kid, they're not going to give up!". I shouted at him, kicking the same skeleton from before that was still looking for a fight.

"Tsk...", he clicked his tongue as a sign of annoyance, "I'm going to keep opening doors until I find the correct one! Hang in there!". He growled. I thought about telling him breaking them wasn't necessary, but I didn't want any distractions when another skeleton walked up to me from behind.

"Shit...", I crouched down, kicking his femur so he would fall, using the opportunity to escape that position and not get trapped between the two warriors, "By the skin of my teeth..."

Kid had already broken four doors in total. The number of skeletons was incredibly high, despite the place we were in being very spacious. My heart was beating fast, I was breathing with difficulty, and my ankles started to hurt after running from a place to another, trying to avoid the hordes of corpses.

I saw they weren't a big problem for people like Heat, Wire, or Killer himself. Let me rectify. They wouldn't have been a big problem if the skeletons wouldn't have been fucking immortal. Even they looked tired by that factor, dodging numerous hits, and inflicting the double of hits to the warriors.

The words from that man came to my mind. "I won't let you take us to the same fate of seven years ago!". That fate... Images of pirates, dead on the shore, reached my mind, his crew... and I imagined it was mine. I shook my head.

In a moment of panic, I looked around desperately. There had to be something. A sign. Something that would tell us which one was the right door. I began running, following the circular path of the hole, not paying attention to the enemies, just focusing on any clues on the symbols. Anything.

Kid kept breaking doors, causing more warriors to come out of the dark or from the earth itself. We wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer.

"Come on, come on...". A feeble whine escaped my throat, quieter than a whisper, but it echoed in my chest like an omen.

I didn't notice the arm of a skeleton was coming out of the dirt. It grabbed my ankle when I tried to pass by, making me fall flat on my face with a scream of surprise.

Luckily, the grass acted as a cushion. I could have scraped my arms way more if it had been on another surface. I lifted my gaze with pain. My eyes opened like oranges: my locket was broken, and it had fallen a meter away, the little door open and the photograph upside down.

"No...". I crawled like I could, reaching my arm to retrieve the object that, for some reason, was so dear to me. It's funny. Even in extreme situations, we can't get separated from our human nature.

I took the photograph between my fingers, and I was going to put it back in the locket, but... Wait. There was something drawn on the back of the picture.

A symbol.

"Grandpa...". I couldn't believe it. Why did he give me something with the symbol that guided us to the treasure? Did he imagine that I would follow his steps?

Or, maybe, in the end, he did have the gift of an oracle.

My pupils moved frenetically from one place to another. First the drawing, then the doors. Drawing, doors, drawing, doors... And so forth until I found the door with the same symbol from the picture. I tried to stand up, my knees still hurting from the fall. The locket fell from my hands again, but I let it be.

"Kid!", I shouted without even looking at him, "Stop breaking doors!"

The right door was somewhat far from my position, but I dashed like a bat out of hell, not minding the little strength that I had left. My lungs were burning, my throat was dry, and the muscles of my legs were wavering.

A skeleton interposed itself between me and the door. I crashed into it, starting a tussle. I just needed to get to the door. I tried to slip away from his grasp, kicking his bones, ribs, pushing him... I made it roll over with one last push. I didn't even have time to fully stand when I dashed towards my goal, almost falling once again. I was so close...

But the already dead soldiers of Fatamorgana were not giving up. Another living corpse lunged at me. Desperate, I hit him with my fist in his skull. I may have broken a finger, but the pain was worth it when it let me free to be able to place my hand on the symbol. So close...

The door opened.

All of the skeletons fell on the ground like puppets whose strings had just been cut. There were so many soldiers that the grass was covered by their corpses. An eerie sea of bones. I furrowed my brows when I saw there weren't only Fatamorgana warriors adorning the ground; there were some of our men, too...

"Thank goodness", Chum exclaimed, "If it took a bit longer...", he looked at our casualties with a stern look, "We'll have to take care of them". He called a group of pirates to retrieve friends' corpses. Later, they would give them a worthy funeral.

"Good job". The captain passed by next to me, being the first to enter through the door that just opened. He cleaned the blood of a superficial cut on his cheek.

The rest of the crewmates who weren't helping Chum followed him. Before I started to follow them, too, I stole one last glance to the locket I abandoned on the ground. With a sigh, I tore my gaze away from it, entering through the door.

"This place is...". Heat murmured. He didn't finish the sentence, but I think we all knew the end of it. The ambience was eerie.

We entered a cave with a high ceiling and narrow walls. On the end of that rocky tunnel, there was a big and spacious room with a pillar in the middle. It was illuminated by weird minerals that emanated a blue light.

"Is that the talisman?" Kid asked nobody, lifting his gaze to look on top of the pillar, where rested the talisman capable of resurrecting the dead.

A weird feeling overcame me. Being in front of it, I felt my stomach twisting upon the thought of bringing the dead back to life. Was it really worth it? I didn't agree with my grandad's plans, and I didn't know about Kid's, but the idea didn't excite me, either. If they resurrected someone, would they be like those skeletons devoid of soul, of voice, of heart?

Was that really what they wanted?

But it wasn't something I had to decide; it was my captain's choice, after all.

I observed the walls of the room. They were weird, there were some... doodles? Doodles inside this cave? I approached the wall and realized they were perfectly legible letters:

**_"There's always a sacrifice of the same value for the dead"._ **

The phrase made my hair stand on end, and a shiver ran down my spine. That bad omen returned to my chest, making my head turn as if a hand jerked it around. Kid was reaching his arm towards the talisman.

"Kid, no". I muttered while I felt the world was in slow motion. I ran to stand between his hand and the pillar. Before Kid's fingertips brushed past the talisman, I took it in my hands.

I closed my eyes, fearing something bad would happen. Maybe the ceiling would detach, or a monster guarding the talisman appeared. But nothing. Nothing happened. I opened my eyes, and everything was still the same.

Except for the talisman, that was laying on the floor instead of my hands. Kid picked it up while frowning.

"Where the fuck is she?". He growled, looking around. Everyone seemed alarmed. Was he talking about me?

"Kid? I'm right in front of you". I waved my hand in front of his face, but he didn't react.

"What the fuck... ______! Where are you?!" He shouted again, and I felt my blood leaving my cheeks.

Couldn't they see me? A part of me thought it was a joke. A very mean joke in very bad timing, but it was the only explanation I could find. Or the one I wanted to be the right one, dreading to think about the rest of the possibilities. ** _"There's always a sacrifice of the same value for the dead"._**

"Toba, you see me, right?", I stood in front of him. Nothing. Not even the slightest reaction, "Heat? Wire?"

Nothing.

I headed for Killer, wanting to place my hand on his shoulder.

"Killer, please, you must be joking". I shut up when my hand went through his body. I stepped back in surprise. The image of my hand dissolved like watercolour, merging again into the original form after an instant. Like a mirage.

I scoffed in disbelief.

"This can't be happening...". I looked for the last time at the writing on the wall. **_"There's always a sacrifice of the same value for the dead"._**

»»—————————⍟——————————««

Kid and the rest kept searching for _____ for almost two hours in every possible place. But no matter how hard they tried, they wouldn't be able to see her. She had become part of the mirages of the island, taking her a sacrifice as an exchange for the talisman.

_____ could only let her tears fall when she realized there was nothing she could do. She observed how they tried to resurrect the men dead on the battle, and what she dreaded most happened.

They got up, yes. They were back to life, in a sense. They still had their friends' appearance, but their eyes... Their eyes were void. They didn't react to their friends' words or hugs. Nothing. They were empty shells designed to follow orders after death. Unable to feel. Unable to be humans again.

Kid brought his hands to his head, jerking his hair with a vexed expression.

"Fuck, fuck, FUCK!", he punched the wall, leaving a crater in it. His knuckles were bleeding, but he didn't mind, "What good is this stupid rock if I lose my crew along the way?". He threw it to the floor with fury. It exploded in thousands of shards. His chest rose with each huff and puff of hatred he gave. His fists were closed in rage, contemplating the rests of the talisman.

»»—————————⍟——————————««

The sun had already set. The afterglow of the red rays of the sun through the clouds was beautiful.

But I could only see it from inside the cave, since, when I tried to go out, an invisible force pushed me back inside. I tried to cross a few more times, but I quickly gave up. Even though I didn't want to accept it, I knew they had also given up. They summed my sudden disappearance to the few losses we had suffered. Or they had suffered.

Sooner or later, they would have to leave the island, leaving me there. They couldn't do anything; they didn't know I was still there. They probably thought I was dead or something similar. I hugged my knees, sitting on the floor.

If this had been one of the stories that my grandpa told me, it would have had a good ending. Now, the only thing left would be climbing up the wall to exit this giant hole and follow our steps back to the Victoria Punk. And things would have continued as always, embarking on another adventure.

The crew had already walked back to the ship. It hurt, but I couldn't blame them. I let out a dry laugh. I guess my destiny was to end up alone.

I didn't want to do it, but I imagined what would have happened if I had gone back with them. I would miss Toba's stupid jokes, Chum's loud laugh, Kid's bad temper, Wire's kindness... Even Killer's training. Even though it was hard, I didn't care about it now. If that meant I could go back, I would keep following his tough training to master my mirages; visual ones, auditive ones, tacti-

Tactile ones.

I got up from the floor in a rush, waddling to the exit.

I lifted a hand in the air until I touched what felt like a barrier. I couldn't see it, but I could feel it.

Maybe... Maybe I could break. Or pass through. Or something. Fight fire with fire. If that was caused by a mirage... Hell, I was a walking mirage!

I put both hands in front me, pressing onto the barrier.

"Here we go..."

On the first try, I crashed into the barrier.

"Ouch...", I rubbed my forehead, "One more time..."

I put both hands in the air again. I breathed in. What would Killer say?

Being a mirage, I couldn't interact with reality. However, I could cause alterations in physic reality, like when I made Killer feel my pain. But that barrier was a mirage, too. Maybe it was a more powerful mirage than whatever the island had transformed me in.

Killer would say that, if he wasn't mistaken, I could tackle the mirage with something real, something physical.

I stepped away from the exit, and I entered the cave. There were some rocks scattered on the ground. I crouched down in front of them.

"Okay, I'm going to try and lift it...". I put my hands like a bowl, trying to lift the rock.

I failed in the first attempt.

And the second attempt.

And the third one.

But fifteenth time lucky, and I managed to hold the rock in my hand, feeling how it was to hold an object, the pressure my fingers should apply, the movement of my arm... I wasn't actually touching it, but the thing was, to explain it in some way, "making the rock believe" it was being manipulated by a physical entity.

With extreme care, I approached the exit.

"Here goes nothing...". I threw the rock towards the barrier.

The rock passed through it, falling on the other side of the door.

I groaned, letting my shoulder fall in defeat.

My logic had failed. That feeling of dejection burned inside of me like a flame that grew and grew. I felt despair, helplessness, rage, my desire to break that damned barrier... My hand moved by itself while I let out a scream of fury, hitting the barrier with all my strength, even if it was just to blow off some steam.

I wasn't expecting my arm to become coated in, according to what I have read, what was named _haki_. My fist didn't even feel pain with that new armament, but I felt I hit something.

There was a crack in the air, and my spirits were lifted. Yes. I could break it. I bit my lip to contain my smile.

With a few more punches, I managed to exit the cave, falling on the ground since I put too much strength in my hits when the barrier was destroyed. I touched the grass blades with my fingers, seeing how I could now interact with reality. I must have broken the curse.

Did I say I ran like a bat out of hell before? I take it back again. This time actually was the right time to use that expression.

My feet stepped on the locket I had forsaken on the ground, but I continued running.

I had to reach the Victoria Punk.

»»—————————⍟——————————««

"Trust me, Kid, I don't want to accept it, either. But we should leave. Nothing's gonna change, even if we wait here for her ghost to return, alright? The men we have lost won't return either", Killer was talking to Kid, "I guess not every treasure is worth it".

"We shouldn't have come...". Kid murmured. It was the first time he looked so... remorseful.

"Maybe not. But we can also learn from misfortune. Now we won't forget that the biggest treasures are not the material ones".

"Killer, if you keep throwing stupid philosophical quotes, I'm throwing you out of the ship". Kid threatened.

A new voice made an appearance.

"I'm gone for a few hours, and you're already threatening each other to death?"

Everyone on deck turned around in direction of where the voice came.

"Is that...?". Heat spoke.

"__!", Toba exclaimed, running towards _____, "We thought you...!"

"I know" _____ interrupted him. This time, she didn't dodge Toba's hug. You never know when it can be the last one.

Some of them sighed in relief.

"You weren't dead!". Chum laughed full of joy.

_____ smiled and replied:

"What kind of pirate would I be if I abandoned my crew and my captain?". She smirked at Kid. The redhead was surprised, but ended up smiling, walking towards her and putting an arm around her shoulders.

"You have to tell us what the fuck happened there".

"Yeah, yeah", the girl replied, "But before that, let's sail. I don't want to be on this island any longer". She faked a goosebump.

"I second the motion". Toba added.

"Me, too". Chum continued.

"Me, too". Heat also spoke.

"Yes, we get it, no one wants to stay here", Killer spoke, amused, "... I also second the motion". He walked towards the steering wheel.

"Set sail!". The captain shouted.

Finally, it was time to get out of here.

Time to return to normal life, sailing with the people that gave _____ a new purpose to live for.

"Fuck this island!", Kid shouted, "Our next and only objective now is...

**_the One Piece!_ **

**__ **


	26. [+18] EXTRA: Between amber and sapphire

" _______ , can you bring me a flour bag from the cellar?" Killer said.

"Sure thing". I dried my hands with a kitchen cloth since I had been cleaning potatoes for today's dinner.

I opened the door. The room was in absolute darkness due to the late hours, and I walked towards the flour bags.

"Shit, it's so heavy...". I could barely lift one. I left it on the floor again to try and grab it in a better way. I didn't want to end up covered in flour. A sound behind me interrupted my manoeuvre.

"Killer?". I asked, confused.

"That's my name".

"No, dumbass. I mean, what are you doing here? I wasn't taking that long". I pointed to the bag, letting him know I was coming right back.

"And I'm the dumbass...". He sighed and pinned me to the wall. He took off his mask with a hair movement that would be the envy of shampoo adds.

"W-what are you doing?". My surprise was muffled by the blond's wild kisses.

I didn't take long to kiss him back. I didn't expect Killer's lips to be so soft. His lipstick had a... cherry aftertaste? Killer's hands traced my waist delicately, lifting, by accident, my shirt. His cold fingers brushed past my exposed skin, earning a goosebump from me.

"I hope you don't mind...". He placed a soft kiss on my neck. "I thought about bringing more company". I looked him in the eyes, confused for a second until I saw Eustass' silhouette enter the cellar. Only the faint light from the deck lighted up the room we were in.

"You started the fun without me?". He took off his coat and let it fall.

Without previous notice, Killer's strong arms lifted me and pushed me away from the wall to make me sit on a barrel. He took my thighs to position himself between my legs. That gesture left me breathless.

Kid had made its way behind me, moving away strands of my hair. When he had my back exposed like a canvas, he bent down to kiss my shoulder. A kiss, another kiss... On the shoulder, on the neck... His mouth kept going up, and when he reached my ear, he whispered:

"Feel free to moan my name". Without looking at him, I felt his smirk while he pronounced those words.

"You'll have to earn that, Kid. I won't be left behind". Killer answered back, mockingly. The blond's hands caressed my legs teasingly while his lips traced a path of kisses from my chin to my chest. A sigh escaped from my lips.

My left arm was lifted, holding Kid's neck while he devoured my neck with passion, leaving small marks; my other hand was placed on Killer's nape, my fingers intertwined with his golden locks. Some messy strands of his hair fell on my shoulders, tickling me.

A moan almost escaped my throat and Kid started to fondle my breasts while Killer took control of my mouth, inserting his tongue in my mouth, exploring it with expert movements. I didn't know if I was going to have enough air for the rest of the night. My cheeks, already flushed, told me that the answer was probably "no".

I held onto the blond's shoulders, making him growl in satisfaction. When he stepped back, I took a breath. His eyes were half-lidded, and I wasn't the only one panting. I didn't have enough time to recover since Kid had already taken my chin possessively, wanting to improve that kiss. I heard Killer scoff, knowing the redhead.

Kid's kiss was more intense than the blond's one, more violent, but it induced the same feeling inside of me. My heart was beating intensely. I freed from Kid's kiss, and he took the opportunity to take off my shirt.

"This shit's bothering me". He grunted. He gave up and decided to tear it apart, revealing my semi-naked torso.

"Kid!". I reproached him after tearing off one of my clothes. It wasn't one of my favourite ones or anything, it's just that it was one of the few I had. I covered myself out of habit, even if I had the bra on.

"I'll buy you a new one". He also broke the bra, not even trying to unfasten the simple system that was in my back. "And another one of those".

"Although I wouldn't mind if you walked around without it". Killer added, lowering his face to my breasts, and starting to lick them.

In that instant, I couldn't bear it any longer, and my tremulous voice escaped from my throat among pants. Upon hearing the sound, Kid took my hair forcefully, without hurting me, pressing his face against my neck, breathing in desperately.

"Fuck...". He growled. He descended his hands by my sides, sliding them beneath my shorts, toying with the hem of my underwear. The ambience felt hotter each time.

Feeling brave, I took Killer's shirt and lifted it slowly to take it off. Little by little, I revealed his well-built torso. The little light that entered the room made his muscles look like those of a Greek sculpture. He finished the work, leaving his blue shirt somewhere near to my tore clothes. I feared my shorts would have the same fate.

The picture of Killer, shirtless, in front of me, almost made me lick my lips. I bit them with anticipation, looking away when I saw the bulge in his pants. I doubted I could blush more.

I brushed my hair a bit while his hands unbuckled his belt. Well, my hair wasn't going to last looking decent anyway.

My butt was starting to hurt from sitting on a barrel, so I got up. Killer took the folded blanket from my hammock (since the weather didn't ask for a blanket at night). Without unfolding it, he put it on the floor, and Kid placed his metallic hand on my shoulder, making me kneel on the blanket.

Even at these moments, the blond tried to be a gentleman... In his own particular way.

Kid positioned himself behind me, tracing my body with his hands and stopping when he reached my butt. I took Killer's erection with my hands, stealing quick glances at him to see his reactions.

I slid my tongue along his length, focusing on the most sensitive area making circles with my tongue, earning a few grunts from the blond. His hand on my head guided my movements without making any pressure, but I knew he was resisting the urge to not take control of the situation and thrust fiercely.

I kept bobbing my head up and down, taking Killer's length as much as I could in my mouth. Meanwhile, Kid, who hated not to be the centre of attention, slid his hands inside the only clothes I had left (which ended up disappearing, too) and played with my womanhood, making my legs tremble.

Killer, feeling he couldn't hold it any longer, brushed his thumb on my cheek at the same time he stepped back as a way to tell me not to continue.

Kid, taking the opportunity, pushed me with the delicacy only he could have, making my back fall to the floor. He smirked at me, a cocky and lustful smile.

He rummaged through his pockets and took out a pair of condoms. He threw one at the blond, who caught it on the fly. The redhead opened the one he kept, not losing any time to put it on. He inserted a finger in my womanhood, making me close my eyelids in pleasure. He inserted another one and started to move them as if he knew exactly which direction to follow. A funny feeling was forming in my abdomen.

I brought a hand to my face, covering my mouth with my forearm to avoid my moans from sounding too loud. My chest went up and down fast and, if Kid would have kept still, I would have also seen him breathing with difficulty. He took out his fingers to place himself in front of my entrance, squeezing my hips when he gave the first thrust. I bit my arm without causing much harm to muffle my mounds. I wasn't very successful.

"Kid..."

His hips moved rhythmically. The mark of his fingers holding on to my hips stayed in my skin, paling by his strong touch. His length entered and exited with intensity, accompanied by the redhead's growls in ecstasy. My vision could not focus on a single point. It was impossible due to the swaying of my body receiving the shoves of the husky redhead.

Without notice, he stopped. But he didn't take long to lift me off the floor so he could lay back and place me on top of him. His big hands fondled my skin, and I wouldn't have been surprised if my hips had been already shaped to his hand.

He started to move his hips, needy, a silent plea for me to move. Even though having the power was tempting, I wanted it as much as him. With my hands on his chest, I continued the thrusts that delighted Kid. Killer took the place that Kid had previously occupied, behind me, and massaged my breasts, giving my random kisses on my back. Another moan escaped my lips when he pinched my nipple with unnecessary force. I turned my head back so give him a murderous glare, jokingly.

"My bad". He gave a last kiss on my shoulder, at the same time he took my hands in his, hugging me from behind.

Kid's thrusts accelerated for a moment, becoming more erratic when he approached his climax. I knew he had come when he grunted and jerked his head back, revealing a few drops of sweat sliding down his chin.

He got up, taking care of the used condom. I would have complained about his abandonment if it wasn't for Killer, who read my silence, letting out a small laugh that I felt resonate in my back, being close to his chest.

"I'll take care of it". He whispered in my ear while he positioned me on my knees again. I put my hands on the floor, too, almost falling down.

Killer thrust inside of me, making me tremble. He wasn't as rough as Kid, but his thrusts were faster, and the speed didn't stop growing. I felt my elbows giving in.

Kid kneeled down in front of me, holding my chin in his hand. He brushed his thumb past my lower lip, and then he closed in for a kiss that silenced my pants for a brief time.

When he walked away, Killer took my arms, holding them behind my back. At least now I didn't have to worry about my muscles giving in. I felt a knot forming on my abdomen. The blond moved even faster, if that was possible, making his thrusts shorter.

"Moan my name". He whispered in my ear. By the tone of his hoarse and needy voice, I supposed he was close to the orgasm.

"K-Killer..."

After a few seconds, Killer let out a growl and moved his hips slower than before, but he didn't stop. Thank God. While he continued his movement, he reached a hand to my womanhood, playing with my clit. That was everything I needed for the wave of warmth to explode inside of me, making me swallow a scream of pleasure to my insides. I tried to breathe normally again.

When we got separated, I felt an intense pain in my legs. That was going to hurt tomorrow...

Kid was dressing up, and, as the big genius had ripped my clothes, Killer went to search for another shirt for me to wear outside. Although I thought twice about going out when I heard Toba's voice screaming from the deck:

"WHERE'S DINNER?".

Oops.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fOrGivE mE fAtHeR fOr I hAvE SiNnEd
> 
> It's the first time I write lemon/smut/+18 or however way you call it (yes, I wrote the threesome before the lemon with just Kid), so any constructive criticism is welcome x"D
> 
> I wrote this at night (I always write the first draft in Spanish), so when I read it again in the morning to translate it to English, I was like: "omg did I write this?" lmao.


	27. EPILOGUE

• **Wire** taught sign language to **Nat** since one of the birds ripped his tongue off. _______ joined the lessons.

• **Chum** still fell off the table when he got told a joke.

• **Killer** didn't have to bring another towel to _______ in the bathroom.

• Which doesn't mean he didn't enter for other things.

• **Kid** kept being too affectionate with _______ in front of the crew.

• And still mocked her about her low kill streak and her reward.

• **Toba** kept trying to convince _______ on moving in with them.

• **Heat** didn't trust _______ wouldn't cheat playing poker, but he would let her sit on his knees to watch them play.

• _______ remembered to buy presents and save them for Christmas.

• They all set sail to the last island to find the **One Piece**.


End file.
